The Victim
by literallyinsane1
Summary: When Detective Edward Cullen must live with a victim from one of his cases, Bella Swan, they get to learn a lot about each other. How will they handle each others pasts? Can they have a relationship?
1. Chapter 1

A/N:Here's my new story! Hope you like it. Review and tell me anything about it please :D

New ff story chapter 1

Bella  
Why me? I asked myself. I'm sitting on the floor curled up in the  
fetal position, crying and trying to calm down by rocking back and  
forth. I'm in pain. So much pain. It hurts everywhere . I think I  
have a broken rib, a black eye, a bleeding nose, and literally  
everywhere else hurts. I streched my shaky hand trying to reach for  
the phone to call for help, but my hands are so shaky that I can  
barely dial 911, much less pick it up. Eventually I got it dialed and  
an operator answered.  
"911 what is your emergency?"she asked.  
"Um...I-I'm in room 501 in the Waldorf Astoria hotel. I need an  
ambulance and maybe the police. Please hurry!" I said trying to get  
through the message without breaking down.  
"Ma'am, they will leave as soon as you tell me the emergency."  
"My boyfriend just attacked me, I have a broken nose, black eye, and  
it feels like a few broken ribs." I replied my voice quivering.  
"Okay ma'am, an ambulance, the police, and a detective is on the way.  
I apologize but I have to go, there are many more calls coming in but  
help is on the way and will be there soon. Is there any thing else you  
need?" She replied reluctantly.  
"Um, no I think that's it, but I hear the sirens so I guess I'm okay.  
Thank you." I slurred starting to get dizzy.  
"Your welcome ma'am." I hung up the phone and waited in the corner I'd  
been sitting in the whole time. Then I heard footsteps but it didn't  
sound like the footsteps of a group of people.  
"Oh no. This can't be happening again." I thought to myself. I went to  
grab a piece of sharp glass that was sitting next to me getting ready  
to fight back... again. Then I saw his face from the little light  
shining in the room. He looked furious.

Edward  
We got a call saying that there was a woman that was severely injured  
due to domestic violence. Since I had no more work I decided to go  
with the cops to the site since I might be needed eventually to find  
the creep who did it. On the way, I looked out the window and watched  
the lights of the city pass by, as I usually do.  
We pulled up at the hotel and started our way up to the room we were  
given. When we got to the door, I heard screaming and hitting and I  
had an idea of what was going on. The point man broke down the door  
all of the cops and I ran into the room. The police obviously had  
their guns at the ready.  
"Freeze! Don't move!" one of them yelled. When they saw that the  
offender wasn't going anywhere they said, "Put your hands on your head  
and turn around slowly." the man did as he was told. When he turned  
around I saw that he was livid . Apparently he hadn't finished his  
business here and that just made me more furious. Two cops slowly  
approached him and started cuffing him up. While they did what they  
do, I went over to the girl cowering in the corner to do what I do. I  
gently put my hand on her shoulder, "Hi, I'm Detective Cullen but you  
can call me Edward. I heard the call to the police and thought you  
might need me to get the jackass that did this to you. Seeing as he  
was right here I don't think I'll be of much help so can you just tell  
me your name?" she lifted her head and saw a wet, bloody, confused  
face of not a girl but a woman. What makes it worse is that she's only  
on her underwear.  
"Im Isabella Swan, but everyone calls me Bella." she said shakily.  
"Okay Bella, do you remember what happened at all?"  
She nodded "I got raped."

End of chapter 1

Sent from my iPod 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Discovery

Edward  
I don't know why I listen to my roomate Emmett sometimes. Yes I am a detective and I have a roomate. Only because Emmett and I have known each other since kindergarten and we've been best buds since. The day we met, well pretty close to that day, we made a promise to always stay in touch no matter what. When the day came where we wanted to move out, and we still didn't have stable relationships, unfortunately, we decided to move in together with the promise in mind.

Today he was in one of his 'wise' moods and told me to be more friendly with the victims. Do things like introduce myself more formally and make the more sensitive people more comfortable by immediately getting to first name basis.

When I saw this girl...I mean woman, she looked so shaken and hurt that I put her under the 'sensitive' category and got to first name basis. It's a good thing that I spoke softly or else the other guys  
would without a doubt make fun of me for doing so.

When I saw how she looked at me after I introduced myself I just felt like an idiot for listening to Emmett this morning and much worse...following his advice. I internally cringed at the thought.

When we got back to the office I was cooled down after what she told me happened to her, at that point she got taken in to the hospital and thank goodness she wasn't seriously hurt . About a week later she was brought in to be interrogated. Since we already have the perp I thought I wouldn't be needed, but long and behold I was. "Yay! More work for me" I thought to myself sarcastically. They told me I was to "Just stay with the lady until someone can come and get her." so I walked into the interrogation room and sat across from her.

Bella  
After the cops arrested Mike, they took me to the hospital. After a week they determined that I was okay to go. The police brought me back to the station and interrogated me. Basically all they asked me was to explain what happened. I told them that I was attacked by my now exboyfriend Michael.

A while ago he started being a little distant, but after a couple of days we went out a lot more. Although he did seem a little more harsh against certain things. It did disturb me but I didn't say anything  
afraid that he might hurt me. That night he took me to the hotel and I decided now is a good time as ever to ask him. When he did, he immediately hit me and it went downhill from there. Now here we are.

Thankfully they belived everything I told them and had Mike arrested. As they were leaving they told me someone is going to come in and wait with me until they figured I could go. I was completely wiped out and all I wanted to do was sleep.

The same detective guy from the hotel came in. I know now is not really the time but I didn't really notice how hot he was until now. He was just completely gorgeous.

"Hey. How are you doin'?" he asked

"Um...okay I guess...you know, considering what's happened." I stuttered. I always hated the fact that I was really shy and get nervous really easily.

"Are you sure? You don't really sound okay to me." he said

"Yeah well I um, I get kinda nervous easily so..." I explained.

"Oh, well you don't have to be nervous. I'm not going to bug you and I'm sure they'll find you place for you in no time." That just reminded me of something. My face instantly fell from the thought. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked

"I just remembered something. I-I don't have anywhere to go. We didn't live at the Waldorf and I used to share an apartment with Mike and I can't go back there. And the only people I know I can live with is in Florida and Washingon. What am I gonna do?" I sobbed. I looked up at ...Edward was it? He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He looked a little confused.

"Did you tell the officer that?" he asked. I shook my head. "Well let me go tell him and we'll see what we can do okay?"

"Okay." I replied.

Edward  
If you thought I was mad when I saw Bella at the crime scene, you should see me now. I was absolutley fuming! How can you say you love someone, date them for god knows how long, abuse them, and them leave them homeless? My god that guy is such an asshole! He better watch out if I ever get near him.

So I am now on my way to the sheriffs office. When I got there I knocked lightly on the door three times before I entered. "Hey chief, sorry to interrupt but you need to know that Bella said that she has  
nowhere to stay because she didn't live at the Waldorf and she can't go back to the apartment she shared with the perp, and the family closest to her is in Florida and Washington."

"Well then I guess we'll have to get some one to stay with her at her house if she doesn't want to be there alone. Uh...let me call Sandusky maybe he will want to-"

"I'll take her" I cut him off. "Sorry sir, but I could take her. I don't have anymore work so it'll be no problem." I said

"Okay... well you should get a move on then." he said

"Yes sir." I replied. I walked out of his office then.

I don't know what made me do that but when I got back to the interrogation room I saw Bella crying hard into her hands. I walked to her side and put a hand on her back and another hand on her arm. She jumped a little not knowing someone walked in. "Hey what's wrong?" I asked her, which was a really stupid question.

"Did you forget that I have nowhere to go?" she said a little annoyed at the question. I don't blame her.

"Sorry. I know it was a stupid question but I didnt realize it until after I asked. Although I have some good...ish news. I told the sherriff what you told me and I know that you said that you didn't  
want to go back to the house you guys shared but I will go with you if that's okay. I can stay with you until you're okay by yourself or until you find another place if you want." I told her trying to soothe  
her. Although she seemed to calm down a little when I had put my hand on her back.

"Are you sure you want to do that because I don't want you to be there if you don't want to be." she said her voice quivering.

"I'm fine with it as long as you are. I mean I don't want to make you uncomfortable with a stranger in your house." I said

"I guess it's okay. There is an extra room you can stay in."

"Well then it's settled. Let's go." we then left to her house. Let's hope everything will turn out good for her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Bella  
Edward wasn't joking when he said he wouldn't bug me. The whole ride to the apartment was silent, not a word. At least the ride only took like 15 minutes so it wasn't awkward for long.

When we got to the building Edward helped me take my bags up to my room. As we reached my room I got the extra key I hid under a plant pot down the hall and we went inside.

"Where do you want me to put these?" Edward asked lifting one of my bags and his.

"Um...you can just drop it next to this one." I said putting the bag I had next to a table. Then I just dropped myself onto the couch with a loud sigh. Edward came and sat down next to me. I closed my eyes because this last week was just so draining!

"Nice place." he said

"Thanks." I replied my eyes still closed, slowly slipping into unconciousness.

"Why did you say you didn't want to come back?"

"It just brings back some bad memories. Not as bad as what happened a week ago but..."

"Oh. I'm sorry I just though what happened at the hotel was the first time he did something to you."

"It was. The memories here are when he had parties, got drunk, said some rude things, did some bad stuff. He never hit me though." when I said this Edward seemed to relax...interesting.

"Oh." was all he said.

"Let me show you your room now." I finally opened my eyes and got up.

Edward

It's a good thing that I keep extra clothes in my office. Well jeans and a t-shirt but clothes nonetheless. It was all I had so I would have to sleep in my underwear and go home and get more clothes tomorrow.

When she said that the guy did other bad things in their home...I flipped on the inside. This guy just keeps getting more and more like a douche. When she said that he didn't hit her though, I kind of  
relaxed because it wasn't that bad before but it was still bad.

When we were walking to where my room would be, I was shocked at how big her apartmant is. I mean I didn't think that it would be like a box but it was definitely bigger than I thought it was. When we got to my room she opened the door for me. I nodded once and gave her a smile before walking in. The room was just amazing! It was blue, my favorite color, the furniture was beautiful, but also fit for a man, and the bed just looked so welcoming right now.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked. I didn't realize I was standing in the doorway with my mouth open the whole time.

"Oh! Uh,yea I'm good i just didn't expect this." I said looking back at the room.

"Well make yourself at home." she said with a small smile. Hmm...I didn't realize until then that I never saw her smile at all. She looks really pretty when she smiles. I smiled back and sat on the bed and  
put my bag down.

"Are you sure you're okay with me staying here?" I asked just to be safe.

"Yes I am. If I wasnt I would've said something already. Ok so my room is right next to yours, and we share a bathroom. If you eat midnight snacks then I have some crackers in the cupboard above the microwave, hopefully they're not stale. Um...I think that's it so good night." she said. I just nodded. "Okay then" and then she left, and I started to get ready for bed.

Later that night...

Okay so it's 11:26at night and I can't sleep at all. But that ususally happens when there's a case that pisses me off. 'no'. I heard from down the hall.'Mike stop...leave me alone.' what? He's here? Oh hell no! 'Mike! Stop! Noooo!' after that there was a piercing scream. I quickly tried to load my gun. This is why I never liked the police when i was a kid! It's a good thing I keep my gun under my pillow.

As soon as it was loaded and ready I ran to Bella's room and held up the gun looking for Mike. I couldn't find him and the window was locked, the closet was open,and the bed is too low for him hide under. 'Ahhhh!' another piercing scream. I looked at Bella and saw her face buried deep into her pillow. All I saw was the side of her head and her neck. She must've been having a bad dream. I put my gun in the back of my underpants and tried to wake her up.

"Hey...Bella wake up it's okay..Bella...Bella!" I shook her shoulders and she shot up with a gasp. "Are you okay." she jumped a little when I started talking. She now faced me with watery eyes and a trembling lip. "Oh no please don't cry." I said looking for tissues. Good thing they were right on her bedside table. I pulled out three and gave them to her. I sat on her bed next to her and put my arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into me. She sniffled and sobbed while I rubbed her arm trying to calm her down. This went on for about six minutes when she quieted down and her breathing became soft and labored. She fell asleep. I carefully laid her back down on her bed, and moved away slowly. When I got away I tried to be as silent as possible walking out and closing the door. I guess I was quiet enough because she didn't move or wake up from what I could hear.

I got back to my room, put my gun back under my pillow, and lay back. Hmm...so she talks in her sleep. Let's hope she doesn't walk while she sleeps too. I don't think I could handle 2 sleepwalkers in my life.

Speaking of sleepwalkers, Emmett's gonna have a field day when I tell him where I'd been all night seeing as I hadn't told him. Oh well.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Past

Edward

Mmm...buttermilk pancackes and bacon. Just the way I like it. Wait, why am I thinking about breakfast? My eyes popped open and I shot up, instantly feeling dizzy. I brought my legs up and put my head between my knees trying to get some composure. I took a deep breath...then another...is Bella cooking? Well then I guess that explains my food dream.

I quickly took a shower and put on the clothes from yesterday back on. I felt so dirty in those clothes. When I was presentable I walked toward where I remembered the kitchen to be. As I walked in I saw a Bella in excercise clothes. Damn! This is what happens when you can never stay with a girl. You don't get any for months and get horny at the first sign of a woman. I guess I'd been staring a little too long because Bella was in my face saying 'Hello? Earth to Edward!' I blinked a few times before I realized the situation.

"Oh damn! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to stare-" I apologized before she cut me off.

"Its fine. Don't worry about it." she said with a small smile. "So I imagine you'd be starving so help yourself. There's some buttermilk pancackes from Cracker Barrel and I'm almost done with the bacon."

"Um okay. Where are the plates and stuff?" I asked.

"Oh I already set the table." I looked in the small dining room and saw two plates and the utensils along with the little bottles of Cracker Barrel syrup.

"Okay." I grabbed a plate, took two pancakes and three strips of bacon. After a few minutes Bella got settled and we ate in silence. Until... "So I have to go to my apartment and get some clothes because Im not sure exactly how long I'll stay." I said

"Ok when are you- wait if your a detective don't you get a big check?" she asked, and I nodded. "So then why do you live in an apartment?"

"Long story." I replied

"Fair enough. So when did you plan on going?"

"After breakfast."

"Ok."

"You're gonna have to come too."

"What?"

"Look, it's my job to look after you and I can't do that if you're not in sight."

"I feel like I'm being baby sat." she frowned.

"Sorry buy it's my job. I should give you a fair warning though, my roomate is most likely going to be there and he's a little...over ecstatic all the time." She just bust out laughing when I said that.

"What?"

"He's a little over ecstatic all the time?" I had to admit it does sound funny so I ended up laughing too.

"Okay I admit that made no sense at all but there's no other way to explain him."

"Well okay then."

Bella

I woke up not remembering when or how I fell asleep in the first place. Since it was pretty early I figured Edward was still sleeping so I decided to go jogging. Whenever I need time alone or time to  
think or if I'm just plain bored I jog so it seemed like a good idea.

On the way back home I stopped off at Cracker Barrell to pick up some of my favorite pancackes and their syrup. When I got home I didn't bother to change before making some bacon. When I turned around I saw Edward looking at me open-mouthed. I gave him a lazy smile and said good morning and when he didn't move, I tried to get him back in his own mind. It was actually pretty funny.

We were now on our way to his apartment and we ended up at my friend Emmetts building. I didn't say anything though. When we ended on Emmetts floor I got a little suspicious, and I just had to ask, "Is your room number 8B?" we stopped at a door that had 8B on it.

"How did you know?" he asked as he opened the door.

"EDDIE BOY!" Emmett shouted. "What's up ma-Bella?" he said

"Hey Emmett." I said.

"Whoa, how do you guys know each other?" Edward asked.

"My best friends' fiance's twin is his girlfriend." I explained.

"How do you know Edward?" Emmett asked.

"Babysitter."

"Im not your babysitter I just have to stay with you for a week or two." Edward said.

"Dating an older woman, hot." Emmett said.

"Emmett were not dating." I said

"Wait how old are you?" Edward asked me.

"I turned 26 last September. What about you? You can't be that much younger than me."

"Ill be 26 in March." he said.

"See Em, not that much of a difference, but were not dating anyway so it wouldnt matter." I said.

"Yeah, yeah. You say that now, but just wait a few months and I'll be right." Emmett said.

"Whatever." Edward turned to me "Ill be right back."

"Yeah."

"So, you and Ed man huh?" Emmett said.

"Emmett, shut the hell up. We just explained the situation and unless you haven't heard, I'm not looking for a relationship right now." I said

"What are you talking about? What happened?"

I took a deep breath then sat on the couch "A little over a week ago, Mike attacked me. I was in the hospital for a week before they took me in to the station to be aware of what happened when I was there. I didn't want to go back to the aparment and I had nowhere else to go, so Edward volunteered to stay with me until I was okay on my own." I said with silent tears. Emmet pulled me to his chest for one of his signature bear hugs. Those always made me feel better and he always used that to his advantage in situations like these.

"Bella you know you could've stayed in the spare room we have here. I told you that before when Ja-...before 'you know what' happened." he caught himself before he let his name slip. Anything invovled with him just brought memories that are unbearable. Before I even had a chance to let one of those memories get into my head I started sobbing into his chest.

"Dammit!" he said to himself. "Bella I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up it was an accident."

"What happened? Is she okay?" Edward asked when he got back to where we were.

"She's fine, but she's staying here tonight. No exceptions, or excuses, or 'I'm fine's'." he said the last part to me. "Edward you stay with her. I'm going to get her some clothes. I'll be back in a few minutes."Edward sat next to me but didn't touch me or say anything. Emmett got his keys quickly and left.

I leaned forward and put my elbows on my knees, and my head in my hands. I tried to take deep breaths and calm down but after thinking about what happened after not thinking about it at all is just...very overwhelming.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked concerned. I sniffled and nodded. He moved over and sat next to me, I was too exhausted to move or do anything at all. He gently rubbed circles on my back. After reliving that night with Mike in my head, the gesture was a little uncomfortable at first. After a while it was soothing. My breathing slowed, and eventually became normal. I rubbed my face a few times.

"You better now?" Edward asked me.

"Yeah. I think I'll take a nap though." I replied.

"Ok well the guest room-"

"I know where it is." I cut him off politely.'IHATEHIMIHATEHIMIHATEHIM!' I thought as I drifted into a blissful darkness.

A/N: Bella is saying she hates Mike, not Edward.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Don't kill me! I'm sorry I haven't updated in four months. Since my last update I had summer homework, and then I had a lot of school trouble and it doesn't help that this semester I started as a freshman. Anyways I had vacation this week so I made this chapter. I have another vacation in a few weeks so I' try and update then too. So again I'm soooooo sorry, please forgive me and here's chapter five!

Chapter 5

Bella  
I slept peacefully without dreams. That is until I woke up hearing people yelling. It sounded like Emmett, Edward, and...Rosalie? Oh! I forgot she moved in a few weeks ago. I slowly sat up, rubbed my eyes, and got out of bed, and not once did the yelling stop. I walked into the living room and saw Rose and Em sitting and Edward was standing in front of them. They were all yelling at the same time so I had no idea what the argument was about. Since the couch Rose and Em were on was facing away from me, Edward saw me first.

"Sorry. Did we wake you up?" he asked. I just shook my head, and I'm pretty sure I looked confused. After he asked Rose and Em turned around to face me.

I looked at them for two seconds before asking "What's going on?"

They all looked at each other before Emmett turned back and said "Nothing. Don't worry about it. Are you feeling better?" he stood up and walked over to me. He directed me to the kitchen as I nodded answering his question. "Look, Edward asked what made you upset when I got back. I didn't tell him anything but he kept bugging me about it saying it could help in the future. Since I didn't agree with him on that I didn't tell him. We kept arguing about whether or not to tell him. Eventually Rosie came home and joined in as we explained it to her. She was obviously on my side of the argument. He still doesn't know but he wants to. I told him it was your decision if you wanted him to know. I think that was it." Emmett explained quickly and quietly.

"Wait what exactly did he want to know about? The-" I took a deep breath. "The Jake thing?" I asked, he nodded. I closed my eyes trying to push all those memories away.

"On the bright side, I got P.F. Chang's!" he said enthusiastically. He always made me happy and feel better when I needed to with the simplest things. He was like the big brother I never had, and I loved him. I smiled and he turned to the island and opened all the containers filled to the brim with all of my favorites.

Dinner was a little awkward. Okay it was completely awkward; no one said a word at all. What made it worse is that the table we were eating at was pretty small and I was sitting next to Edward so...yea, awkward. Rose volunteered to wash the dishes so I went to take a shower. The hot water is number two on my list of calming things, actually now it's number one. It just feels so GOOD!

When I got out and got ready for bed, I knocked on Emmett's door to tell him and Rose good night. Then I went straight to the guest room, put my legs under the covers, and picked up my cell phone and called Alice.

"Bella! Oh my god I was starting to get so freaked out. Why haven't you called lately?" she said frantically.

"Well, a lot has happened the last week so I didn't get a chance. But I wanted to tell you now that I wanted to talk to you. So maybe we could meet up at our place and talk?"

"Of course! How about tomorrow at one?"

"Sounds good." we said our goodbyes and I got ready for bed. After a few minutes someone knocked on the door. The door opened and Edward stuck his head in.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked. I nodded and he came in and sat next to where I gestured on the bed. "Look, I know Emmett told you what we were arguing about and I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me. I only wanted to know because I thought it was about the case. I thought it was something that could be added to it and you never told anybody about it. I saw that you were really upset about it and I thought it was because of that Mike guy. I'm really sorry." he explained sincerely.

"Its okay, I understand how you would think that. But, it wasn't about Mike and, I'm sorry, but I don't really feel comfortable talking to you about it. So, if you don't mind can you just forget about it?"

"Yeah! Of course, out of mind out of sight." I smiled at that and had to laugh. "What?"

"That saying doesn't apply to this situation. You're only supposed to say it when there's something to actually be seen." I explained.

"Oh." was all he said. "Well I'll let you get some sleep. Good night." he said as he walked out of the room.

The next day

Today I'm meeting up with Alice for lunch at one. She's my best friend and I have to tell her what happened. I was waiting for her in the cafe that we both love. A few moments later she came in looking around frantically. Once she spotted me she rushed over. By the time she got to our table I was standing and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Bella, what's going on?" she asked after she let go of me. I gestured for her to sit. Once we were comfortable, I told her what happened. We were both in tears when I finished. Although I was in sad tears and she was in mad tears. She was about ready to chop his balls off with an axe and feed it to him. I told her he's in jail for a while so I should be good until then.

After that we talked about other happy stuff like her upcoming wedding. She told me that Rosalie is going to be the maid of honor. I wasn't surprised because she knew Rose longer than she knew me so it was understandable. Before long Emmett was calling me.

"Bells where are you?" he asked sounding a little scared.

"I'm at the cafe with Alice, why, what's happened?"

He sighed "Nothing but it's getting late and I was worried, obviously." I looked at my watch and noticed how long I was gone.

"Em don't worry, I'm fine. We were pretty much done anyway so I'll be there in a few minutes okay?"

"Alright. Be careful."

"Okay." I hung up and looked at Alice. "Sorry but Emmett's freaking out. I guess I was out longer than he expected."

"That's fine I get it. I'll talk to you later?" she said.

"That's fine. Bye Al." we hugged and went our separate ways. When I got to Emmett's room I knocked on the door. After about two seconds Emmett opened the door. "Damn Em! Were you guarding the door or something?"

"I'm sorry if I get worried about you sometimes. Now go to your room and get changed. Rose wants to go to the mall and dinner after and we ALL are going." he said

"Fine dad." I said sarcastically.

Later that day

"So, you and Emmett are really close, huh?"Edward asked me as we followed behind Rosalie and Emmett.

"Yeah, he's like my big bro." I said with a smile.

"How long have you known each other?" he asked.

"About five years, since college."

"Wow that's a long time. How come I've never seen you before?"

"It might have to do with the fact that you were either working your ass off or you were fighting crime as Emmett always says when I visited." I laughed

"Touché. Well we know each other now and it seems it will be like that for a while. Oh! Zumies! Let's go!" he ran into the store grabbing my arm without notice. I texted Emmett saying where I was because knowing him he's probably spazzing out right about now. A few seconds later he texted back. After I read his text I actually started to look around. This looked like my kind of store. Why had I never been here? Oh well, I am now.

"You've never been here?" he asked.

"I said that out loud didn't I?" I asked.

"Yeah you did." he laughed.

"No I've never been. But it looks great."

"How does this look?" he asked putting a beanie cap over his messy hair.

"Good I guess."

"You guess? Come on it can't be that bad!"

"It's just your hair is sticking out too much on the bottom. It looks nice just the little curls..."

"Oh yeah I was supposed to get a haircut but I forgot. I'll get it later."

Nooooo! I thought. Your hair is too sexy don't cut it off!

"But you just said it looks weird." he said with a little smirk. I just flushed and turned around. I frantically walked around trying to get to the farthest part of the store from him. I looked in the racks and shelves but found nothing for my size. So I looked out the door to try and find Emmett and Rose. But instead what I saw was way worse. I could recognize those blue eyes and blond hair anywhere. Mike.

I started hyperventilating and looking for Edward. Just when I needed him most he's nowhere to be found. I could still feel his eyes on me but I didn't dare look at them or else I knew I would freeze. I headed straight for the back of the store and squatted in a corner. I didn't know what else to do so I called Emmett. When I was in the middle of scrolling through my contacts I, luckily, saw Edward. I ran over quickly and hid behind him.

"Whoa! What are you doing?" he turned around, saw my face, and immediately got worried. "What happened?" he said holding my face.

"I saw Mike by the door." my voice quivered a little. He turned around as did I, but he was gone.

"Where did you see him?" he asked while walking quickly to the door.

"He was leaning against the banister." He ran out the door, looked both ways then came back next to me where I was now sobbing harshly. He pulled me into a tight hug.

"It's okay he wasn't there. Your head is just playing games with you. It's fine." he coaxed.

"I'm sorry. I could've sworn he was right there." I sobbed into his chest.

"It's alright he's gone now. Come one let's just go home. You didn't need anything did you?" I shook my head. "Alright, I'll call Emmett and let him know we're going." he said as he pulled out his cell phone. "Hey Em, Bella's not feeling too good so we're gonna head out...no it's nothing bad, just a headache plus she doesn't need anything so...gotcha...alright man, see you guys later." He turned to me. "Let's go shall we?"

I nodded and followed him out and to the exit. I got in the passenger's side and buckled up as he did. The drive was really quiet, but I guess that's better for me because I didn't want to talk. However, I can only tolerate the silence for so long, "Can I turn on the radio please?"

He jumped a little not expecting me to speak, "Sure, go ahead." I turned it on to my favorite station but the advertisements were playing. I went through every single station but they were all advertisements...REALLY? Finally I gave up and turned it off, and sat back with a sigh. "I have a few CD's in the glove box if you want to check them out." this time I jumped.

"Okay." I found four CD's: Paramore, Black Veil Brides (hmm I never wouldn't pegged him for a bridesmaid...or a groomsmen) I giggled at my cheesy joke, P!nk, and Taio Cruz. Wow, he has awesome taste. I took the Paramore CD and put it in. I decided to play Misery Business first. He laughed when he heard it start up. "You like Paramore?"

"I love Paramore! They're my favorite band. It sucks that Josh and Zac left though."

"Yeah. It's a damn shame." He said sarcastically.

"Do you not agree?"

"I do, don't get me wrong. It's just that no matter who's playing the instrument it will still sound the same."

"That's true, but each player plays differently." I said.

"You're not gonna stop until I quit will you?"

"Not a chance in hell." I laughed.

"Fine, fine. I give, it will never be the same without them." He said dramatically.

"Thank you. So, you have good taste." I said. He looked at me surprised. "Oh come on! I meant in music you perv! God you're just as bad as Em."

"Well you know that I live with him you should know how he is. It rubs off." He laughed. "Besides you knew what I was thinking so you have to be the same way."

"Not as bad as you an Emmett." I said

"Are you sure about that?" he asked, I nodded. "Well let's test you."

"How?" I asked skeptically.

"Well, I'll say some things and we'll see your reaction." He said.

"Okay." I conceded.'

"Okay, let's see. How about…damn! The one time I need a dirty joke and I come up with nothing."

"Yes! I'm free!" I cheered. We laughed. I was just glad I didn't have to go through this with another person.

"Well at least I got you to laugh." He smiled.

"Yeah. Um…Edward, you just passed the apartment." I said

"Oh, shit!" he said as he turned. "Sorry."

"It's okay." I laughed.

He parked and we went inside. Since we didn't know what to do, we just spent the rest of the time looking up dirty jokes until Em and Rose got back. It's not normal but it was a pretty good way to waste time. Especially when you're around a total goofball/prankster/dork a lot of the time.

A/N: there you go. The end might not be so good but it's longer than other chapters so I hope that makes up for it. If anybody knows so good short dirty jokes, feel free to send them to me and I'll put them in the next chapter and/or other chapters to come. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey! Sorry again for the delay but once again I'm on vacation so I have time to upload. I might upload again between now and Sunday but I can't make any promises****. Between all the breaks of uploading I kinda lost my train of thought on the story so I gotta rethink it up. But for those of you who are still reading my story, thank you very much for being patient! **

BPOV

After Emmett and Rosalie caught us literally on the floor laughing from the jokes we were reading, we stopped right then. It was fun while it lasted and took my mind off of what I thought I saw earlier that day. I'm glad Edward was there to help me. I probably would've spazzed and dialed 911 after I called Emmett.

The next day we all went back to work, and I still wasn't comfortable being a lone so I still stayed with Emmett, Rose, and Edward. It was a lot more fun than I thought. Em being Em I assumed that he was a big slob and all their shit was everywhere. Oh how wrong I was, but I'm glad. I guess that's why they say don't assume otherwise you'll make an ass out of you and me. The house wasn't necessarily spick and span but it was comfortable. Every night we had dinner together and talked about our days and other things and just enjoyed each others' presence.

Work wasn't hectic, being that it was coming close to winter. People don't get married around this time much, and advertising agencies would hire older companies for the job rather than mine. My company consists of 20 people and is very small. It only started about a year ago and it takes a while for word to get out about you in New York especially. However, like most people, I have a crappy, miserable side job that pays the bills during the winter. Work for everyone else was slowing down too.

It's nice to get a break from the stress though. Now, for most nights in the week, we invite Alice and Jasper and we all have a movie night. Edward usually comes home halfway through the movie. He ends up sitting on the floor because of it. It was pretty funny the first night we planned a movie and he came in apologizing. Alice and Jasper were already asleep, Emmett, Rose, and I were halfway there and we were just staring at him the whole time. This went on for about 5 minutes and we didn't move-or talk-so he just gave up and sat on the floor. The three of us just smirked at each other in a silent agreement. When the movie finished we all got up, and finally spoke to Edward and said it was fine to come in late, but the floor is his spot from now on. That's how it went every other night.

That is until tonight came. We were all in our respective seats, the movie just starting, when we heard a car pull up in the driveway.

"Wow, he actually made it on time." Emmett said surprised.

"Yeah well don't count on it. This probably won't happen too often." Alice said jokingly. We were all laughing when the front door slammed. Loudly. We all turned to look at Edward but his back was turned, going down the hallway to his room. When that slammed, we all looked at each other.

"What's up his ass?" Rosalie asked.

"SSHHHHHH!" We shushed her.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You couldn't have been a little quieter about that?" I asked.

"Oh…sorry." She said with a little smile. "But seriously what's up with him?" she asked. Quieter this time. Nobody answered her. "Well who's going to find out?" WE all looked at each other again.

"NOT IT!" we all shouted at the same time, except for Emmett who just looked mad.

"Dammit! I always lose at that!" he whisper-yelled. We all snickered at his outburst as he got up and headed to Edward's room. About three seconds later loud music blared through the apartment and Emmett had come running back with his ears plugged. So did everyone else. I only winced when it first started but it wasn't that bad. Then I listened more closely and realized he was playing a screamo song. Hmm it sounds like Welcome to the Family by A Day To Remember. At this point everybody but me was filing out. Emmett stopped in front of me and said loudly over the music "BELLS! YOU GOTTA STAY HERE AND WAIT FOR HIM TO COME OUT. YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN STAND THIS MUSIC. IF HE DOES COME OUT, THEN TELL HIM HE'S GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO. AN THAT I'M GOING TO KICK HIS ASS!" I just nodded.

They all left and I'm here on the couch. I turned off the TV and the DVD and laid down just listening to the music. I'm not sure how I came to like this type of music, but I do. It's definitely not the only thing I like though. After a couple of songs, the music stopped and I heard his door open. I sat up and waited for him to get to the living room. He jumped when he saw me.

"Jesus! What the hell are you still doing here?" he said angrily. I wasn't fazed.

"They all abandoned ship when you turned on the music. Apparently I'm the only one that can stand screamo so they told me to stay here. Emmett left a message for you though. He said you have some explaining to do and that he's gonna kick your ass." I said calmly.

"Oh, great." He flopped onto the cough opposite me. "Sorry for snapping at you." He said. She could see that he was still pissed off at whatever.

"It's okay. You want some coffee or something?"I asked.

"Sure." We got up to go to the kitchen. He was headed to the coffee maker.

"No no no. You sit down and I'll get the coffee." I said sternly. He just nodded and sat. When I finished setting up the pot, I turned to face him and leaned back against the counter. He looked really sad and frustrated at the same time. "Screamo's my angry music too." I said trying to distract him. He looked up at me.

"What?"

"I said screamo is my angry music too. When I'm angry, that's what I listen to." I replied.

"Oh." Was all he said. So far music was all I knew we had in common so I had to stay on this topic.

"What's your favorite band?" I asked

"Um…I don't really have one I just listen to it if I like it." He said in a flat tone.

"Oh. I like Sleeping With Sirens. I mean they aren't my all time favorite but usually when I find a new band, they are my favorite for the time being. Until I find a new band at least." I shared.

"Why are you still here?" he asked, but not angrily this time. "I mean you passed on the message, your job is done. Plus if I were you I wouldn't want to be near me much less carrying a conversation with me after I snapped at you." He said seriously.

"Because I know Emmet and if you're not even a little calmer by the time he gets to you, you're screwed. I'm just helping you not get attacked by him." I laughed, he smiled a little. "So either I distract you, or you talk about it. Take your pick. Keep in mind that I'm very persistent in these situations so you have no other choice." I said smugly.

"So, Sleeping With Sirens huh?" he asked with a smile, but I still saw he was still a little peeved.

"Yes. A Day To Remember was my last favorite. What's your favorite song of theirs?" I asked happy I got somewhere with my plan.

"Right now, my favorite would be… I'm Made of Wax Larry, What Are you Made Of?"

"Nice choice. I never understood why they chose that as the title. I know that they got it from Night at the Museum but why?" I asked.

"I honestly don't know." He laughed. I jumped with my fists in the air, he just looked at me like I was crazy. "What was that for?"

"Because you laughed! Mission accomplished." I smiled. He just laughed at me more.

"Your crazy." He accused.

"Am not! I'm just different." I laughed. We went on talking when he decided to change the subject to me.

"So how come I've never seen you annoyed or anything because of work?"

"My job is pretty peaceful. The only problem I get is if I have a snobby client. Man, them bitches get on my nerves!"

"What _is_ your job?" he asked

"I'm a photographer."

"Really?" he asked surprised.

"Yeah. All of those nature shots all over my apartment are mine."

"REALLY? Wow you're good."

"Thank you." I said blushing a little.

"So, is that all you take pictures of?"

"No, I do weddings, family photos, advertisement photos, pretty much all the boring stuff. I take nature shots in my spare time for fun."

"That must be nice." He said looking distant.

"What must be nice?"

"Doing your job for fun."

"You've never had fun doing your job?" I said surprised.

"It's hard when your job involves an immense amount of violence." He got that angry look on his face again.

"You don't talk to your friends about it?"

"I don't have any friends at work. I have co-workers but I wouldn't call them friends."

"Well that must suck ass. How the hell do you not have any friends? Are they snooty or something?"

"No I just get carried away with my cases. Usually I work my ass off and then if I get it done I go straight home. But if it's a hard one then I work even more and then depending on the case, I get mad. Like today."

"Care to explain?" I said pushing him to tell.

"Not today." He looked up at me. "Sorry."

"It's fine. I like to mull things over and calm down before I talk about what's got me upset." He smiled at me and I smiled back.

Then I heard the door open and Emmet's big feet stomping down the hall. Rose just went to their room but Em was hunting down Edward.

**A/N: there you go! I hope it was good. We learned a little more about them and there's much more to learn. Reviews motivate me! So please review. Tell me what you liked, what you hated, and anything in between.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: hello! Thanks for waiting. Another update should come in April unfortunately because next month has no vacations so….yeah. Sorry! But I will try to make the next chapter worth the wait if you're willing to wait.**

Bella

"EDWARD! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?" Emmett yelled angrily. I knew from there Edward was in deep shit so I told him to stay in the kitchen while I went to talk to Emmett. I walked into the hall to find Emmett looking in Edward's room.

"Emmett." I whisper yelled as I pushed him inside and closed the door.

"What the hell Bella! What was that for? And where is he?" he was angry.

"Listen! I talked to him and he said he was just pissed at something that happened at work so don't attack him. Just let him cool down and rest and CALMLY talk to him tomorrow. Okay?" I explained.

"Something at work?" he said concerned. I nodded in confirmation. "Oh shit."

"What?" I asked confused.

"I can't tell you B, I'm sorry. But I need to talk to him now. Don't worry I won't blow up at him." He said leaving the room. I followed out but instead of following him back to the kitchen I went to my room.

I was so confused. I guess this happens often if Emmett got all protective so fast. But why couldn't he tell me. It's not like he's the only person who gets peeved at work. Then again he's surrounded by death and harm and just bad things all around. But if this does happen often then why did he want this job in the first place? Surely he knew what he was getting himself into otherwise he wouldn't have chosen it as his career. I guess the only way I can understand is if he tells me.

My overactive mind was at work with all this as I was in the shower. Something was telling me that I was being too naïve at his situation. I decided to drop it until it came up again. Hopefully it won't. He looked so upset when I he came out of his room, I just didn't want to see him like that.

When I got out of the shower and looked in my bag I realized that I only had one more set of pajamas and underwear. I'm just surprised Emmett managed to get as much as he did. I mean it must've been awkward going through my underwear. Anyway, I need to run home and get some more. Or just go home and stay there. But I still don't think I'm ready to do that yet. There's too much of him in there still. Maybe I can get rid of his shit when I go. I'm gonna need a lot of help. I went to sleep after planning out what to do tomorrow.

The next morning I woke up feeling nervous knowing what I have to do today. I got up to eat breakfast, but when I got to the kitchen I saw none other than Edward sitting at the island drinking coffee and eating a muffin. I said a quiet good morning and he nodded back with a small smile. While I started up another pot of coffee I got a plate for my pastry and then just leaned on the counter facing him.

"I'm sorry for ratting you out." I apologized.

"Huh? Oh! No, it's no problem. I was going to tell him anyway. It's fine." He said reassuringly.

"You sure?" he nodded as he took another bite of his muffin. "Does it happen a lot?"

"Does what happen a lot?"

"You getting angry because of work. I'm only asking because when I told Emmett he looked worried so I thought it happened before."

"It's happened one time before but not often."

"Is it okay if I asked what happened?"

"The case I was working on was frustrating. Another woman got hurt. But that's all I can say about it." He said. I could see him getting mad again.

"That's okay. If you ever want to talk though, you can come to me." I offered.

"Thanks. Shouldn't I be the one helping you? You're handling what happened way better that I thought." He said skeptically.

"Actually I haven't been dealing with it at all that's why. But I have to go back today and do some things so…"

"You need help? I'm off today."

"Definitely. I might need you and Emmett to help."I said reluctantly.

"What were you going to do?"

"I need to deal with my clothes and throw some stuff out."

"His stuff?"

"Yes." The coffee pot beeped signaling that it was done. I poured myself a cup, grabbed my plate and sat down across from Edward and ate in silence.

Soon Emmett and Rosalie came in and got their breakfast too. When I told them my plan and asked for help they agreed.

A few hours later we were in my apartment. I had put my laundry to wash and was now on my way to dispose of Mike. Thankfully most of his stuff was in the closet so it was easy to get them out but he also had things in the draws. The whole time I was trying not to cry, but when we got to the pictures and souvenirs I had to run to the bathroom. I could hear them moving things around quietly. A few minutes later Rose knocked on the door.

She came in and closed the door behind her. Then she just held me on the bathroom floor. Eventually, we got up and left. She walked me to the bedroom and laid me down all the while I was still crying. I noticed that there was no trace of him left and was thankful for their help. I tried to fall asleep but I couldn't. I could faintly hear them talking in the kitchen.

This was going to be hard.

**A/N: thank you for reading and please be patient for the next chapter. Please review too! What did you like/dislike? Your thoughts. Anything! And a quick thank you to MrsElrohir-Ancalime and jess 'twilight-matrix'. You guys' reviews motivated me a lot! XD**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: please don't kill me. Updating is hard with school in the mix BUT school is ending in a couple months so I might update more often. If you are still sticking it through for this story, thank you for being patient. Here's your chapter 8…**

Chapter 8

Edward  
I felt so goddamn bad when she ran crying. She told me that she's only starting to deal with all of this now and that's not good at all. She's probably going to experience some PTSD, be anxious, and be more isolated. If we all stayed with her and kept her happy then those 'symptoms' might be less painful than if she was alone.

While Rose stayed with Bella, Emmett and I kept working to clean out her apartment of anything that could possibly remind her of that dipshit Mike. People like him just piss me off so bad; I wonder why I do this. After I've had my fill of loud music and calm down, I start to remember again and try by hardest to put these guys where they belong; in jail. Or death row.

However, when they are gone and forgotten, the one victim who affected me the most jumps to the front of my mind and I fall into a minor depression. Of course I'm not really depressed, I just self diagnose those situations.  
I won't ever forget her face when she was being hit. The fat tears rolling down her cheeks, her face red, screaming so loud to stop. I felt horrible because I couldn't do anything. She will forever haunt my mind.

But back to the topic at hand; Bella needs our help. I know that everyone considers her a family member so I know we will all do our best at getting her back to her usual self.

When we disposed of the trash, Rosalie came out and we all sat in silence. Eventually we migrated to the living room and sat down. The whole time nobody said one word. I was thinking about my case, Bella, and ways to help her out. When I looked at the clock, 3 hours had passed and it felt like 30 minutes. I looked over and saw Rose asleep on Emmett's chest, who was also asleep.

I got up and looked around her apartment. No I didn't snoop I just looked at her bookshelf, CDs, and mostly her photographs. They were beautifully detailed but you could tell that it wasn't added. The things she photographed were just that detailed...if that makes sense.

My mind rambles on and on. Basically I talk to myself. I do this a lot and sometimes I confuse myself, which is sad. But these photos almost remind me of home, the good parts. The pathway lined with trees on the side was beautiful. The trees were bare and grown so far that they mangled together over the path almost making a tunnel. I thought of the first time I went to the park. I went with my mom and it was one of the greatest days of my childhood. Thinking about my mom, or should I say late mom, gets me all depressed again so I stop admiring the photos and save some for another time.

I decided to check on Bella. When I opened the door she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. That is until she turned around. She looked like she'd been crying more than sleeping and I felt so bad that I was sitting right outside doing nothing when I could've helped her.

She sniffles and her eyes started to water again and I almost lost it. I walked in and laid down with her.

Bella  
I eventually fell asleep, but not for long. I got maybe 4 hours of sleep. But I guess that's good considering it was the middle of the day. When I woke up it was so quiet I guess everyone just left. I just can't stop crying!

It's like no matter what I do my mind always goes back to Mike. His face as he was beating me relentlessly. All the pain I went through. At one point during our relationship I almost thought that I loved him. It's a good thing that I never told him because I would be going through even more pain, emotionally. I don't know what to do with myself anymore. I just want to lay in bed and do nothing. I have to call a vacation at work. I'm sure Angela can take care of things while I'm out. I should probably let all my friends know too before they come back.

Right then I heard a noise outside my bedroom. Maybe they didn't leave? I really hope they aren't going through my things. Especially Edward. I barely know him so that would be even more awkward if he went through my shit.

I really don't want things to be awkward between us. I think there's a possibility that I like him. He's been so helpful and caring and just plain nice to me. But when i think of him I go back to the day we met. I was half naked and battered. And from that my mind goes straight back to Mike. URGH! Why did he have to do this to me? Why did he have to fuck me up so bad I can't even think normally.

Just as the tears were about to come again I heard my door open. Of course it had to be Edward that stuck his head in. I couldn't hold it in any longer and I just broke down crying...again. This time loudly.

I felt the bed dip and jumped a little, surprised. I felt his arm wrap around my back and I moved to lay my head on his chest. I may be embarrassed about this tomorrow. I might even regret it for some stupid reason. All I know is, it felt so good, compared to all the pain I experienced. He didn't say anything. All he did was hold me, smoothed my hair back, and rocked me a little. In a few minutes I stopped crying and my eyelids were drooping again. If I kept this up, I will be up all night.

Edward  
She fell asleep again. I was pretty close to falling asleep too. I left as slowly as possible so I wouldn't wake her, back to the living room.

"Rose, do you know where the spare bedroom is?" I asked.

"There is none."

"What? She only has one bedroom?"

"Yeah. We all told her not to but she had her crazy reasons."

"So then where can I go go sleep?"

"You can either take the couch or the floor." she snickered.

"Oh come on! The couch is like three feet wide!"

"Then I guess you have to take the floor." that smug smile she had on was very irritating at the moment.

"Does she at least have a linen closet so I can get a pillow?"

"Yes. Right at the end of the hall." she laughed lightly.

I walked to the closet and got me a pillow and blanket. I walked back to Bella's room and made a makeshift bed on the floor. The floor is actually pretty comfortable. I eventually fell asleep.

It didn't feel long when I felt a heavy pressure on my leg. I groaned then I heard a yelp and something fell on top of me. I was wide awake now as Bella scrambled to get up. I tried to scoot up to give her room without laughing. It was a wasted effort though; I couldn't hold it in. but that ended soon enough when she ended up standing on my balls. I groaned loudly and rolled over cupping myself.

Bella just gasped and stared at me. It took her a few moments to realize she wasn't doing anything. Then she just jumped over me and ran out of the room. Meanwhile, I just stayed where I was waiting for the pain to subside. A few seconds later she came back with a bag of frozen peas. I tried once again not to laugh but it made the pain worse. I swear this woman is going to kill me. She handed me the peas carefully. I took them but I didn't put them on my crotch, 'cuz who would eat it after that?

Bella kneeled next to my head and started apologizing.

"Oh god Edward I'm so sorry. I swear I didn't mean to do that! I'm sorry!" she looked like she was about to cry. I just shook my head. "Are you ok?"

"Peachy." I said with a little smile.

"Edward I'm serious."

"Yes, Bella, I'm ok, I promise. Just give me another minute."

"Ok. Can I get you anything?" she said standing up again.

"No thanks."

"Uh, okay. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me. Rose and Emmett will be there too."

"Wait Bella, are you okay?" I asked noticing her eyes. They were really red. I sat up to see her better.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She looked away.

"Bella." I said in a warning tone. "Come here." I patted the bed next to me. "Bella its okay to cry, or scream, or do something to make you feel better. As long as you feel better, and nobody else gets hurt, it's okay. Rosalie, Emmett, and I are here to help you feel better. Now tell me what you're thinking. Let it out." I put my arm around her.

She started crying. "I just can't stop thinking about that night when Mike attacked me. I was so scared and I couldn't do anything to protect myself against him. It's always popping up in my head. I just can't escape it and it's scaring me."

"Well maybe we can distract you to keep it from getting in your head. Maybe when you're feeling better I can teach you some cool moves to protect yourself." She laughed a little at that. "Deal?"

"Deal." She said. I took some tissues and wiped off her tears.

"Okay. Now let's go get some food; we haven't eaten in a while." I got up and pulled her with me.

"Wait, I don't think I have enough. It's probably gone bad anyways. Pizza?" she asked.

"Sure. Let's tell the lovebirds." About 30 minutes later we were all eating in the living room with a movie playing. Of course Emmett went and picked 'The Hangover'. Bella did look a little happier. Being with friends does that. We all stayed like this all day and we fell asleep like this too. Choosing to help Bella was a good choice.

**A/N: it may not be very good and not really informative but you got into their minds a little bit. hope you liked it. Review please!**


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: sorry for the ridiculously long wait. School is now over so I can update more often. Hope this chapter is worth the wait. Thing may move along quickly though. I don't plan on this being a long story, maybe 15 chapters.

Chapter 9

Bella  
Dealing with a painful memory is extremely hard. Especially when it's a fresh one. It's all you think about and so many things remind you of it. It gets hard to escape that bad place. All you want is to wallow and brood and keep to yourself and your demented thoughts.

If I was alone I might have actually done all of that. Having Emmett, Rose and Edward here with me help so much. They get me to smile and laugh and most importantly: forget. When I'm distracted I don't think about what happened. I'm so happy to have them, even though I know that they are sacrificing a massive amount of time and work to be with me.

Emmett is always, as usual, being the goofy but awesome big brother. Doing random stupid shit that Rosalie has to yell at him to stop doing. I love it. His crazy shenanigans always end up one of two ways; either he has the cheesiest grin on his face from satisfaction, to which Rose is shaking her head and laughing. The other outcome is he is hunched over frowning in disappointment to which Rose is glaring at him or smiling at her punishment. Those two will have the weirdest children but oddly enough, I can't wait for it.

Edward is really nice. No, really he is. He doesn't get pushy or nosy, but he takes care of me. And not like babysitting but more like friends. I guess we can call ourselves that now. I get nervous around him when I'm in a bad mood because he reminds me of that night. He was there when I was battered and bruised and half naked. Thinking that that was how we first met is awkward but apparently I'm the only one who ever thinks like that. Maybe he's forgotten about the night itself and is just focused on helping me out. So like I said...nice.

Over the past week since the whole bathroom breakdown I'd like to think that I'm doing better. I usually heal quickly, physically and mentally. I never once cried when my grandfather or great aunt died. I'm generally a strong person. But obviously this is a little bigger than that. I only cried a couple times and not for long. Again having friends around to support me help immensely. But most of anything that has to do with that night goes on in my head. Other than those two times that I cried I never show any emotion about it or talk about it because I mostly just think about it. Well I really replay the whole thing over in my head. Maybe I can find what went wrong and what made him want to do this to me. I guess unless I forget about it and move on I'll never find peace.

Speaking of peace, it seems that there's a shortage of it right now. I can hear Rosalie and Emmett yelling all they way from my room...with the door closed...and headphones in. 'Let's see what Emmett didn't get this time' I thought as I rolled my eyes.

When I got to the kitchen I saw the two of them yelling at each other at the same time so I couldn't understand what they were arguing about. Then I turned and saw Edward sitting by the island eating a bowl of cereal quietly watching the show. I decided to grab a bowl and join Edward, those Cocoa Puffs looked really good right now. When I sat down with my bowl he slid the box of cereal and milk over without taking his eyes off the bickering couple. I took my first bite and as usual it was really good. I can never be tired of chocolate. As I started to get some energy I was beginning to understand what Rose and Em were fighting over.

"Wait wait wait!" I yelled trying to get them to stop. All eyes turned to me. "Are you guys seriously fighting over chocolate pudding? You do realize there's a grocery store down the block right? Go buy some more!"

Edward laughed and Rosalie and Em just glared and turned their backs to each other. I sighed and tried to resolve this stupid little issue.

"Emmett just go and buy some more of your damn pudding. You're usually the only one who eats that shit so if one went missing you shouldn't be throwing a hissy fit. Got it?" I asked. He nodded and went to get his keys to leave. "Take Edward with you."

"What?" he asked surprised.

"Just go and talk to him and I'll talk to Rose."

"Fine." he sighed. When the both of them left I immediately started laughing.

"Rose, what was all that about?"

"Last night I ate the last pudding that apparently I wasn't supposed to eat. Then this morning Emmett came in yelling about it. It was just one cup I don't see the big deal!" she yelled frustrated.

"You do realize it's Emmett right? And you do realize that you were fighting over pudding? PUDDING! I mean come on! If you were going to fight at least do it over a broken glass at the least. Pudding..." I said shaking my head. These two make the weirdest couple. A few seconds later Rose burst out laughing and I did too. I'm glad she realized the stupidity of their argument.

"I'm sorry it's just when he acts like that it gets me so frustrated!" she defended herself. I nodded in understanding. When our laughter finally died down she asked, "So what do you want to talk about? I know you wouldn't have sent them both off if you didn't have something else to say."

There actually was something I wanted to ask her specifically because I know she wouldn't lie or bullshit her answer. "Let's sit down." this was going to be rough.

"Okay now spit it out we don't have long."

I took a deep breath "Do you think it was my fault? What happened between me and Mike. Was it because of me?"

"Well to be complete honest, I think you should have seen something coming. I mean you said he was acting weird and then all of a sudden he takes you to the Waldorf? Then again you were totally infatuated with him so I guess you were kind of blindsided. But other than that, no, absolutely not. It was his dumbass decision to do what he did to you. You had nothing to do with it."

I sighed in relief because I knew she would tell the truth and if this is the truth, then a whole lot has been lifted off my shoulders. I was suspicious at first when he was acting weird but I just brushed it off.

I didn't realize I was crying until Rosalie pulled me into a hug. "Thank you Rose. You have no idea how good it feels to hear that."

"Anytime Bells. Now Emmett tells me that you're a fast healer in general. And no offense but all this sulking from everyone, even me sometimes, is getting a bit frustrating. I'm not pushing you to feel better right now but do you think this little talk helped at all?"

"Actually yeah, I think it did. I'm sorry for making you feel that way but I couldn't help feeling like it was my fault. That one thought just shut me down and I guess everyone felt the same too. I don't know but things may go back to normal soon. At least I hope."

I felt a little bit lighter after talking to Rosalie. I haven't forgotten what happened but I guess I'm just getting used to it. It's part of my 'baggage' now. Huh, maybe I do heal fast. I kinda feel normal again. I smiled and gave Rose another hug. Right in the middle of it, the door slammed open and Emmett came in with Edward right behind yelling at him not to do it. This should be good.

"YOU!" Emmett yelled at Rosalie pointing at her. "You did eat the last one! There was only six in a pack and I specifically remember eating 5!" I snickered as Edward sat next to me with a sigh and a shaking head.

"Wow you're a fast one." Rose retorted. "Emmett, its one cup of pudding. The world isn't going to end, besides you did buy a new pack right?" she said slowly. He nodded in confirmation. "Okay then, I won't eat anymore. If I want one I'll ask you for permission. Happy?"

"That's all I ask for babe." Emmett said with a huge grin. He kissed Rosalie on the forehead and went into the kitchen. Rose still sat there glaring at him.

He came back into the room looking at me. I probably should've stopped laughing at some point. "Are you okay?" I nodded. A few seconds later he looked like he just realized something. "Wait, it's been longer than 2 weeks right? So you're over it?" I nodded again. He cheered and ran over to pick me up in a big hug.

"Whoa, wait, what?" Edward said confused.

"Well usually if anything happens to her she gets over it or heals in 2 weeks max. One time she fell off her bike, and down a hill. She broke her wrist and got a shit load of cuts and bruises and a week and a half later she was good as new." Emmett explained.

"Seriously? For anything? You just get better like that." Edward snapped his fingers.

"Yup, I'm a fast healer. It's supposedly genetic because my dad is the same way. I just hope I'm not bionic or mutant or something." I said

"Huh. Well now what?"

"I…don't know. How about dinner?"

"WOOOO FOOD!" Emmett cheered. I sighed and shook my head at him, just like Edward and Rosalie. "What? You guys still aren't used to that?"

"Oh we are, it doesn't mean we approve. Now let's go before we have a long wait." Rose said, pushing Em out the door.

"I'll call Alice." I said.

Just then, as Rose just got to the door, there was a knock. When she opened it, Alice stood there with Jasper.

"It's been two weeks so if Bella's not normal again I'm gonna kick her ass." Alice said determined.

"Am I the only one who didn't know about this two weeks thing?" Edward got frustrated.

"Yeah pretty much." I said.

"Bella! You're okay! Great let's go out and eat I'm starving!"

"When do you not know what we are going to do?" Emmett said once we got into his jeep.

"What are you talking about?" Alice asked.

"Bella didn't even open her phone to invite you before you showed up for dinner. When do things like that never happen?"

"Believe me I didn't know you were going out. I seriously was about to beat some sense into Bella…and I was hungry so it all worked out."

"Guys, we all know that Alice is psychic. Just don't question her." I laughed.

We all had a great dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Our oversized portions were about half gone when we decided to quit. Except for Emmett, he of course finished his entire plate and most of dessert. On the way home half of us fell asleep, me included. By the time Rose, Em, Edward, and I got back to Emmett's apartment I was starting to wake up. I dragged myself to the guest room in a haze. When I finally got my teeth brushed and my clothes changed I didn't remember anything from the past ten minutes. As I was drifting off I _did_ remember what happened today.

I finally moved on from that horrible night and thanks to my friends, it was easier than I could have imagined.

A/N: so this might be the worst chapter considering most of it is about pudding. I honestly don't know where that came from. Sorry! Maybe by the next chapter my writers block will break. Please review and tell me what you liked/ disliked and anything in general about the story. Please and thank you!:D


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: hello! Fast update huh? Are you happy? Lol, again I apologize for the long wait for a crap chapter. I honestly just wanted to get it done and typed whatever I thought of. (I still don't know where the pudding came from though…oh well). This chapter I hope is way better. It has more of the actual plot in it and you may or may not get some more insight on the characters' pasts. Hope you like it! Onward!

EPOV

Two weeks? That makes no sense. Maybe she is bionic…emotionally. I mean that's a freakishly short time to get over something so terrible. I still get mad and upset about it and I'm not even the victim! I'm so confused. They probably are still hiding something. I have to get someone to explain this to me.

It was never this hard understanding…_her_.

"CULLEN!" my boss yelled, slapping my desk.

I shot straight up, "Yes, sir."

"You've been staring into space twiddling your thumbs over here for the past 15 minutes. Go home."

"Sorry sir, I'm fine I promise-"

"No, Cullen, go home. I know how these cases affect you. Just take whatever you have left home and finish it there. Get it done, relax, and be back in 2 days for you shift."

"Thank you, sir" I gave him a weak smile.

"Yeah, yeah." He dismissed me and walked away. I gathered the files for my current case, got my things and left. I peeled down the street to my apartment. I just wanted to get these files over and done with so I won't have to see them again.

When I finally got to my building I climbed onto the elevator, thankfully alone. God damn, this thing couldn't be any slower. Five years later when I finally got to my door I went to get my keys but, of course, I didn't have them. I must've left them home this morning. Fuck! I leaned back on the door trying to figure out what to do. About two seconds later I heard a bang from inside. _The hell is going on?_

'Uhh Emmett!

_Oh. My. God. No. no no no no no! Oh come on! That's gross man! Ahh great now where am I supposed to go? _

I ran back to my car after taking the elevator back down. I think it went even slower, ugh! I sat in the driver's seat and finally decided to call the one person I know for sure would be home. In fact I should probably be there now anyway.

"Edward?" Bella answered after the first few rings.

"Hi, um, sorry to bother you. Are you busy?" I stammered.

"No, why?"

"Well I don't have my keys and Rose and Emmett are doing the do right now so I was wondering if I can stay over at yours for a little?" I explained quickly. She started laughing. Hysterically I might add.

"Oh that was way too funny. Sure you can come over." She said when she got her breath back.

"Thanks, I'll be there in a few minutes." I hung up and headed over to Bella's apartment. This might be a bad idea but, it's the only one I have. I'll just have to grin and bear it.

I wove through the traffic smoothly. Her building came in sight and my heart started pounding. _Calm down before you pass out! _ I took a few deep breaths that seemed o hardly do anything. I need some coffee.

I pulled into the closest Starbucks and ordered two venti chai lattes. I kept hearing about these things, I hope it's as good as it's hyped up to be. When I got the tray with the twp cups, I paid and left. I took a sip as I reached the parking lot. _Hmm, not bad, I hope Bella likes it 'cuz I can't drink two. _I grabbed everything and quickly made my way over to the elevator. At least this one moved faster. I got to her apartment door and kicked it lightly. She answered it quickly.

"Hey, come in. I'm working on a project right now so I'll be in my room most of the time. Also I will be playing loud music. Would you mind?" she said quickly.

"Nope, I have some work too so I hope you don't mind if I raid your living room table." I laughed and stepped inside.

"Great I would hate for you to just be sitting there the whole time with nothing to do. Make yourself at home." She said and looked at her watch. "I've got to get back to finish up. Do you need anything?"

"No I'm fine thank you. By the way this is for you." I handed her the cup of coffee, as I plopped the files on the table.

"Oh my god, thank you so much!" she took the coffee and gulped half of it right there. "You have no idea how much I needed that."

"Anytime." I smiled glad she liked it. She left to finish her project and I sat and started working on my case file. It was tedious work but it had to get done.

A good hour later I was about done. I could guarantee you that I had at least 3 paper cuts, and these words were burned into my eyes. At least I had good music to listen to while I worked. Thank god we had the same taste in music. All of a sudden an unfamiliar song started and the first few words made me freeze.

"_Father, father, tell me where have you been?"_ those words hit way too close to home. I slowly put the last paper in the folder and dropped my head into my hands and just listened to the words.

"_Why are you walking away? Was it something I did?_

_...Is this what you call a family?"_

As the song ended, I felt my mouth get watery. I ran to the bathroom locked the door and puked. That latte and my lunch was history. I swear it's like someone documented my past into that song.

After a few minutes, the heaving stopped. I flushed the toilet and went to lean on the edge of the sink. I took a few deep breaths and splashed some cold water on my face. I knew this was a bad idea, I mean I didn't expect something like this to happen but something was bound to go wrong.

I locked my jaw and forced myself not to breakdown. At least, not here of all places.

"Edward?" Shit! She heard me. I quickly fried my face and opened the door. I refused to look directly at her though.

"Sorry, I had a bad lunch." I lied.

"Oh, well are you okay now? Do you need some water or anything?" she asked quietly.

"No, I'm fine, thanks. I just need to sit for a little." I headed back to the couch. I sat back, closed my eyes and forced myself to forget. I felt Bella come and sit next to me. She didn't say anything, she just sat there. It, surprisingly, wasn't awkward or uncomfortable.

After a few minutes she said "I want to take you somewhere, to show you something. I think you need it." She said softly getting up. I opened my eyes and saw her walk into her room. She came back out with her camera and her keys. "Come on. I promise it will be worth it."

I reluctantly got up, grabbed my jacket and followed her out of her apartment. She locked the door and we made our way to her truck. She didn't say anything the whole time. About five minutes into the drive she turned the radio on. I tensed expecting that vivid song to come back on. She probably noticed my reaction and turned it back off. I let out a little sigh and turned to look out the window. I didn't recognize where she was going but the scenery was beautiful.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"I think I'll have to add this to the list of topics that I can't talk about right now." I said after a pause.

"Does it have to do with your case?"

"No, not this time."

"Well, don't worry. Soon you'll forget." Turned to look at her, she was just looking at the road with a small smile playing at her lips. Opting not to say anything, I just turned back to look put the window. Eventually she pulled into a dirt road. I really hope she didn't turn into a serial killer or something. Under all the trees it was pretty dark. Soon enough though, a little bit of light shone through some of the foliage.

She stopped the truck, grabbed her camera and keys and got out. I followed her out and down the rest of the path towards the little bit of light. She pushed aside the leaves and held them for me to pass through.

When I walked through I saw a large meadow. It was just a circle with hundreds of wildflowers, tall trees surrounding, and a few boulders scattered around. This was just truly beautiful. I stood frozen, amazed by the sight I was seeing. Bella just walked past me and hopped on to a boulder a laid back. I went to the same boulder and sat on the floor leaning back against it, facing the setting sun. I wish I could've brought-

I shook my head trying again to forget.

"This is really a beautiful place, Bella. How did you find this?"

"I was having a horrible day. Decided I should drive around, take in some scenery, waste some time. Then I saw that dirt road and thought 'why not'. I drove painstakingly slow; I thought my tires would pop. It took me forever to get here. Then I saw that little bit of light at the end and went to check it out. Then I found this." She opened her arms gesturing all around her. "I just sat here staring at all the flowers. It was so peaceful, and after a few minutes I forgot why I had such a shitty day. I laid back and watched the leaves wave in the wind. I stayed here for hours just observing. It gave me an inspiration to take photographs again."

At this point I was turned around with my chin resting on my folded arms, looking at Bella. She looked so happy and in awe. She glowed. _She_ was even more beautiful than the meadow right now. She turned her head to look back at me. Her eyes were sparkling.

"Don't move." She whispered. She sat up' and scooted away from me. She grabbed her camera, kneeled down so it was sitting on the boulder and took a picture of me. "Okay, now stop looking confused and relax." She laughed a little at that. I tried to relax my eyebrows, and ended up closing my eyes. I heard her take another picture. "Turn back and lean against the rock."

"I'm not a model you know." I smiled but complied as she walked around to stand just to the right of me a few feet from my knees.

"Could've fooled me." She retorted and took a picture while I was mid laugh. She waited again and said, "Turn to look just over the Sun."

I turned and felt my eyes squint and my brows furrow. She snapped another picture. "Okay, I'm done." I looked back at her as she looked over the photos she took.

"I was 3." I said surprising myself and apparently her too.

"What?"

"I was 3 when my dad left my mom and I."

"Edward you don't have to-"

"I know. I want to." I turned back to look at the trees. "My mom told me they got into an argument about money, but for all I know is he just packed and left out of the blue. I assume that one of them didn't pay their fair share for things. For a good few years I didn't have a real father figure. Even after my mom moved us to her parents, I stayed more with my mother that anyone else. When I was 6 or 7 my mom met someone and they started dating. They moved really quickly. Almost a month later we were moving into his apartment. I felt really bad about him and I didn't know why. I told my mom that I didn't like him but she told me that it would be good for us. That _he_ would be good for us. His apartment was small and cramped, definitely not meant for 3 people. It smelled like cigarettes and beer, food was all over the place…it was just disgusting. There was only a living room, a small kitchen, a bedroom and a closet. I felt better off at my grandparent's house. They had money therefore a nice place. I kept begging my mom to move back because I just kept getting bad feelings about that guy. Turns out I was right." I was in a daze. The words just kept spilling out and I couldn't stop them. But this is the part where I can never get past.

"What happened, Edward?" Bella asked concerned.

"I- that song," I could finish the story, "the last song you played at your apartment? What was it?" I asked.

"Um, I think it was "A Trophy Father's Trophy Son by Sleeping with Sirens, why?" She said, oblivious, although I could see that she caught on that i didn't really finish the story.

"It, uh, it really hit home. It's like that part of my childhood displayed in that song, vividly." I admitted.

"Oh. Edward I'm so sorry!" she said and pulled me into a hug. Her arms snaked around my waist. I relaxed and wrapped mine tightly around her shoulders and buried my face in her hair. "I'm so sorry Edward, I feel so bad, I didn't know."

I shook my head a little, "Don't feel bad, of course you didn't know. I haven't really told anyone. I've gotten good at bottling things up."

"That's terrible. You shouldn't do that." She tightened her arms around me.

"I can't help it." She just sat there holding me and I couldn't have asked for anything more. Eventually I felt a tear escape my eye. I tried to wipe it off discreetly but…

"Are you crying?" she asked.

"No." I lied.

She let go and looked at me, "I'm sorry, this place was supposed to make you forget not remember."

"I did forget I just, I guess, had to tell you."

"Thank you for telling me. I could tell it was hard." She smiled at me. "Come on, we should go before it gets too dark and Emmett sends a search party."

"I don't think you have to worry about Emmett. He's probably still occupied right now." I joked felling a bit better.

"Okay I really don't want to think about that. It's like walking in on your brother. I love him but I don't need to know all of that." She laughed.

She got up and held her hand out for me with a smile. I took it and got up. As much as I didn't want to let go I did and gestured for her to lead the way. We walked back to her truck quietly; a few times she stopped to take some more pictures of the trees. She really was a beautiful person, inside and out. I don't think I can help myself from having a little crush on her. This whole thing with the meadow too really helped no matter that it only lasted a few minutes. She seemed so worried about me back at her apartment.

I don't get why what happened to her happened. She didn't deserve it if her current actions are any indication. She's sweet and caring and beautiful…she couldn't possibly be over it so quickly. I have to talk to someone when I get home. This was just too ridiculous to believe.

Speaking of home, Bella pulled into the lot a minute later and parked her car.

"Bella, thank you for everything. I really owe you one. Don't let me forget. How about lunch tomorrow?" I asked hopefully.

"Uh actually I still have to work on my project, I might be done by Wednesday so how about then?" she asked.

"Sure that works. I'll see you then." I pulled her into a hug and held her for a little longer than I should have. I let her go, smiled and headed to the driver's side of my car then stopped and froze.

"I think you need your keys for that. You might want your jacket and files too don't ya think?" she laughed and turned to head for the door. I shook my head and followed her quietly. How did I forget my stuff? Oh what the sight of a woman does to a man. The whole way up she was struggling not to laugh and I was trying not glare at her. We got off on her floor and went inside. I quickly gathered my things and headed out.

"Wednesday, for lunch. Don't let me forget!" I reminded her.

"I won't." she said with a laugh. I got into my car and drove home not really noticing anything. I was way too excited for this lunch with Bella. I hastily made my way to my apartment, stopped and listened for any activities I didn't want any part of. When I decided it was safe I knocked and waited for someone to answer the door.

Rose flung open the door with a big smile.

"Oh it's just you." She said unimpressed and walked away.

"Nice to see you too, honey." I said sarcastically. "Were you expecting something?"

"More like someone. Emmett went to get some movies and popcorn to bribe you so you won't kill him." She explained.

"Great, movie night with the insatiable couple. This should be good." I said. She flung a cushion at my head and hit me smack in the face.

"Shut up! We didn't know you were going to be here! Just pretend like it never happened, okay?" she said quickly. And just as quickly her face flushed pink.

"Believe me it's already forgotten." I said smiling. I paused, "Rose can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"It's about Bella. I don't really believe that it only takes her two weeks to get over things. Especially something as big as what happened recently."

She looked hesitant to respond but she did eventually, "Obviously she wouldn't get over anything that fast, nobody can. But with Bella it's like, after two weeks the absolute very worst is over. On the outside she's fine and normal again. But really everything is just floating around in her head. She thinks a lot and works more. Essentially she's fine but after a while she gets upset again. It's not as bad and not as much but it still happens. Everyone just pretends like everything is normal after the 2 weeks but we really just make her happy before it comes back. After about a month, a month and a half she's better, 100%." She explained.

"So you're saying that after two weeks she acts fine and dandy but she really isn't until almost two months later?"

"Yeah pretty much, so for the next few weeks just act normal. She knows about it, hell she even explained it to us, so nothing has to be awkward.

"Wow, that's really weird." I said

"It is but its Bella." She laughed lightly. After that Emmett came home, we watched a few movies and went to bed.

I lay in bed staring into space again thinking about the day I had, the meadow, the talk with Rose, the music. _What was that song again? A Trophy Father's Trophy son?_ I sat up and got my laptop and searched for it. I found it and listened to it a few times before I drifted off…


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Hello again! Well to say I'm disappointed that I didn't get any reviews last chapter would be an understatement. Technically I guess I didn't ask but….anyways! Here is chapter 11. Hope you enjoy and PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD REVIEW! Ya never know, I may even update faster. (and I promise to stay true to that because I have loads of time and nothing to do. But still please review so I can accommodate the problem you have or answer the questions you have). Here you go

BPOV

Well I guess that explains why he was so mad on that movie day.

'_Name: Samantha Bicksley_

_Age: 15_

_Height: 5' 3"_

_Case: Rape/ Molest_

_Evidence: Injuries such as cuts, bruises, stab wounds, a broken arm, and signs of entry_

_Suspect: Unknown.'_

All of those words are still fresh in my mind from when I read them yesterday. I remember him hunched over those papers when I quietly walked up behind him. The music was still playing very loudly so he couldn't possibly have heard me coming up behind him. I snuck a peek over his shoulder and saw that case file about that little girl.

It definitely brought back clear memories of what happened to me. But I also remember Edwards face from a few times I saw him. He looked annoyed and angry and upset and I didn't know why. I assumed that if it was because of his job, he was stupid to take it but I guess he's just sensitive to these kinds of cases.

On top of that I have a feeling that his mom got berated by his step father a lot. He was so little and he was surrounded by that all the time. The way he looked when he talked about them…he was so detached. It was like he was telling someone else's story and not his. He stopped in the middle. I can't blame him since I haven't told his anything at all about my past. I don't know the rest of that story and I don't know if I ever will. However, as far as I know, it makes sense for him to have been mad.

Then when he heard that song and he thought it was his childhood reincarnated. I felt for him, but I didn't know what to do. The only thing I could think of was to bring him to- to _our _meadow. It seemed to have helped until I opened my big mouth. But I guess if I didn't say anything he wouldn't have told me about his dad leaving and his mom meeting someone else who seemed to be a complete ass.

Anyway, I'm probably getting ahead of myself making stupid assumptions. Now, it's behind us…almost. Tonight all of us are going bowling and I won't think about it. I won't let it distract me.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror to make sure my clothes were straight and my makeup isn't smudged…not that anyone would notice. All I had on my face was lip stick and eye shadow. Well maybe they would notice. Raccoon eyes tend to draw attention. _Just like Mrs. Cann. _Ugh. I shiver just thinking about her. She had eyeliner from the middle of her forehead to her cheekbones; she probably scared the raccoons away if not made friends with them. But I digress.

I went and sat in my living room to wait for Rose and Alice. All the guys are at Emmett's probably bored and tired of waiting. I checked my watch and saw it was already 10:00.

"Girls, hurry up! The guys are gonna kill us!" I yelled for them.

"Calm down Bella geez! They love us too much to get too mad." Alice laughed.

"Maybe for you, but they won't hesitate to chew me out."

"Unless, Edward comes to your rescue." Rosalie winked at me.

"Uh… come again?"

"Seriously? He's always there with any one of us to help cheer you up." Alice started putting on her coat.

"That might have to do with the fact that it's his job." I retorted.

By this time we all had our stuff and were headed to the car.

"That may be true, but I've never seen him so… focused and determined I guess." Alice said.

"So you're saying that the entire time he's been doing this job, he didn't care but now he does? That isn't making any sense to me."

"He did care before just not as much as he does now." Alice was trying really hard to get me to believe that.

"Well I didn't know him before so I guess I can't really argue, so if I agree will you guys move on?" I asked.

"Deal." Rosalie agreed quickly.

"Rose." scolded Alice.

"What? If the girl doesn't want to believe it then she won't and frankly this conversation is going nowhere."

"Fine." Alice caved and just turned on the radio. The rest of the ride to the bowling alley was relatively quiet. One very loud, very long conversation between Emmett and Rose when she called to tell them we left kind of ruined it.

About 45 minutes later we pulled into the parking lot and the guys were not too far behind us. Thankfully, there was not a lot of arguing.

"So it is true that all girls take forever to get ready when they go out, huh?" Edward said.

"Not it's not! I never take more than 30 minutes, not counting a shower. It's those two over there that always need to make sure every hair is in the right place." I joked. But I was completely serious about how long I take to get ready. I swear.

"Really? Only 30 minutes? And you still come out good looking? That's hard to believe." He quipped.

I looked down at my outfit. "Good looking? I'm wearing jeans and a tee-shirt, I hardly think that qualifies as good looking." I laughed.

"I beg to differ." He gave me a flirty smile. You know the crooked ones where only one side of their mouth goes up? That one.

"Right…." I said sarcastically. We finally got to our lane. "So are you any good at bowling?"

"Oh yea! I always used to beat Emmett by at least 3 strikes. Right Emmett?" he called.

"What?" Emmett said.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Right?"

"Rriiiiiigggghhhtt." Emmett said slowly and skeptically. I laughed.

"There you go." He laughed too.

"Ok, well I guess we'll see soon enough right?"

"Yes we will, but don't worry; I'll go easy on you." He winked and turned away.

Oh hell no.

I went to the ball rack and picked one that worked for me and went back to our lane. I walked up to Edward and said "Don't worry about going easy, I'm sure I can handle myself." and winked back at him. Turning back to face the lane I breathed, walked slowly up to the lane while swinging the ball back before launching it forward. Strike. I walked back with a smug smile and sat down across from a gaping Edward.

Emmett nudged him and told him to take his turn. He took a ball and prepared just like I did; deep breath, walked slowly, swung back and launched forward. HA! Gutter ball. His second try he knocked down one pin.

Everyone laughed and I almost felt bad for him…almost. He sulked back to his seat quietly and looked down. When everyone else took their turn they all got spares at the very least. The rest of the game went the same. I got strikes or 9 out of 10 for a spare, Edward knocked down 7 at the most, no spares, and everyone else got strikes and spares.

Now I felt bad for him. Shit. This sucks.

The game ended and I won with 5 strikes. We were headed to the restaurant area to eat. This place was a little over priced but the food was good anyway.

I grabbed Edward's arm as he walked to the table. "Wait, you're um…you're not mad are you?" I asked nervously.

"Mad? For what?"

"Because you lost. I know how guys always want to win to show off." I joked, I don't think it worked.

"No I'm not mad, I'm highly disappointed but not mad. And not all guys are like that." he smiled.

"Are you sure?" I asked hopefully now.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Let's go eat I'm starving." He took my hand and led me to the table. We sat with the rest of the group and ordered our food. The two couples instantly got al lovey-dovey. _Gag. _Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that they're happy. They just don't have to be that happy right in front of me. Public displays of affection really bother me, but since they are my friends, I put up with it.

"So you said that business get slow in the fall and winter right?" Edward asked.

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"Well what do you do then? You can't just sit around right?"

"Oh, no I work in a high school. I don't teach or anything, I just work in the office. You know paper work and answering phones. Just normal boring shit, although I substitute on occasion." I explained.

"Doesn't sound too fun." He laughed.

"Yeah it's not the most fulfilling job for me like photography but it pays the bills."

"That makes sense. What got you into photography?"

"When I was in high school, I always paid attention to little details on random things or noticing how certain people acted in certain place with certain people. I was not peeping on anyone so don't get any pervy ideas." I joked. "The visuals I noticed peaked my interest and I used my phone to take pictures of trees and flowers, things like that. For my birthday my parents got me a camera and I started taking candid shots of people on the street and in school. They came out nice but they weren't like the professional ones I take now. It still was fun for me though so I kept doing it. And it was an escape whenever I was in a bad mood. It just worked with me and I loved it."

"Wow. You are really passionate about it, aren't you?"

"Definitely. What about you? What made you want to be a detective?"

"Well… uh…" he hesitated and looked around "you remember what I said about my dad, and-step father? I just didn't want there to be anymore guys like that out there."

It didn't seem like that was the whole story but I wasn't going to push it. He seemed tense and upset so I let it go. Our food finally came and we all dug right in. like I said; it was overpriced, but it still tasted really good.

Then again almost any food could taste good to me.

"Oh that was so good!" Emmett groaned. We all hummed in agreement. "We are so coming here again" he said as he placed his credit card in that little receipt book thing for the waitress.

"Emmett you can't pay for all of it." Alice said.

"Why not? I can't treat my friends once in a while? You can pay next time."

"Fine, but don't think I'll forget."

"Oh I know you won't." Emmett laughed.

"Here you go, sir." The waitress came back with his credit card.

"Thanks, let's go guys!"

We all put our jackets on to head home, and when I got outside, I realized how tired I was and couldn't hold back a yawn. It didn't work.

"Hey, you want me to take you home?" Edward asked.

"Sure, that would be great." I agreed.

"Cool, my car is right here." He led me over to the passenger side and opened the door for me, waited until I sat down, and closed it back.

I fought to keep my eyes open on the ride home. The quiet wasn't helping.

"Can I turn the radio on, before I fall asleep?" I asked

"Sure, go ahead." He nodded.

I turned it on and didn't bother changing the station. I just needed the noise to keep me up.

"So I think it's safe to say we know a lot about each other, and we are friends right?" Edward asked. I laughed and nodded, my head leaning on the window. "Would it still be too much to ask about that thing that you were crying about..that first day when we went to the apartment?"

I knew exactly what he was talking about.

The Jake thing.

I didn't really want to share it again but he deserved to know.

"I'll tell you, but when we get to my apartment. It's hard to talk about it in a car." I said. He looked confused but went with it. He'll figure it out soon enough.

We were almost there and I don't know what he was doing but he almost ran a red light and I panicked.

"EDWARD!" I yelled and grabbed his arm in a death grip. He slammed on the brakes and stopped in time before driving into the intersection.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" he asked hysterically.

My eyes were squeezed shut and my breathing was fast. Not to mention I might be cutting off the circulation in his arm. He slowly pried my fingers off and held my hand as he drove off into the parking lot, all the while I tried to get my breathing under control. He pulled into an empty spot and turned to me.

"Bella, I'm so so sorry. I wasn't paying attention, I was just thinking and I didn't realize it was a red light. Are you okay? Can I do anything?"

I just shook my head, still trying to control my breath.

"Well let me get you inside." He got out and jogged to my door, opened it and helped me out. He took my hand and held it all the way to the apartment. On the elevator ride up, my breath got better. It's weird how I always get better so quickly when he was around. Maybe Alice and Rose are right.

I got out my key and unlocked the door for us. He sat me on the couch and went into the kitchen. By then I was pretty much back to normal, and I heard him opening and closing cabinet doors. Eventually, he came back with a glass of water and he hand it to me. While I drank it he sat next to me and rubbed circles on my back. I instantly felt way better.

"Are you ok now?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, I think so." I reassured him.

"Did you have a panic attack or something?"

"Most likely…I think I should tell you about that thing now. Maybe you'll understand after."

"Oh, okay. Only if you're sure."

"I'm sure, you deserve to know." I took a deep breath. 'Emmett accidentally almost brought up a name that I'm trying to get over that night. I just ignore it as much as I can but lately it hasn't been working. My boyfriend- well he used to be my boyfriend; Jacob, that's who Emmett was going to mention. He died…a while ago but I just can't get over it." By now quiet tears were rolling down my cheeks. "He liked to fix cars and stuff and one day he was riding a motorcycle he fixed to show me. He never made it though. He got in a really bad accident with a big SUV. He was in the hospital for almost a month in a coma and one day he just…. He went really peacefully at least. He wasn't awake to feel the pain or anything. But I just miss him so much." By now I was full on crying. He put his arm around me and pulled me into his chest. He just held me there until I stopped crying.

It felt so good being hugged…_held_. Yeah, my friends and family hugged me but this just felt different.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"Me too. It sucks losing someone you love."

"I know what you mean. I lost my-" he stopped. I waited but he didn't continue.

I sat up "You don't have to tell me. It hurts to talk about this stuff and you already told me about your dad. But whenever you want to talk I'll be here." I smiled.

He smiled back and said "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked confused.

"One minute you're crying your heart out for your boyfriend and the next you're ready to be strong for me. That has to take a lot of energy."

"Well sometimes people need other people to be strong for them and the energy is worth it if it makes them happy again." He hugged me again.

"You are way too strong for one person. But I probably will tell you eventually. It always finds its way out of me. Plus, you deserve to know things too." He let go and smiled sweetly.

For the rest of that night we talked

And talked.

And talked.

It was nice. I never had a long conversation with anyone in a long time. We talk about so many different things like more of our favorites and literature and school and life and the future. It felt really nice to have him with me.

After talking for so long we just fell asleep on the couch together. Strangely, it didn't bother me.

I might have even fallen asleep with a smile on my face…

A/N: there you go. Sorry for the long-ish wait. To be completely honest I was holding out wishing for one review but…nada. I hope you enjoyed it! If you did (for the last time this chapter, I promise) please review. If I don't get any review for this chapter then I might just give up the story because no review make me think that nobody's reading and if nobody's reading then why update? Right? Just one review is all I ask for. :D


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Glad to know people are actually reading:) …not much else to say so here you go, enjoy!

BPOV

_Owww._

_What the hell is this?_

…_oh right. We fell asleep on the couch. Fuck. I need a softer couch 'cause this shit is killing my back. What do I even have my head on right now?_

I slowly got up to assess the situation and for every inch I moved a different part of my back cracked into place. I stood up and stretched before turning around to see where my head was exactly. Edward was on the far side of the couch with his legs open and stretched all the way out and his arms along the back of the couch and the armrest. His head was all the way back and his mouth was wide open; I had to laugh at that.

Then I realized…my head was… oh my god.

It was in his frickin' crotch!

_Ugh that's so gross!_

I ran to the bathroom to wash my face of because even though he had his clothes on…that was just so wrong and incredibly awkward. For me anyways. While I was there I brushed my teeth too.

I went to the kitchen to make some breakfast, but decided against it because I couldn't help but want to fix him so he doesn't hurt his neck anymore than it probably is. I pulled on his arm so that the top half of his body was lying down. Then I tried to hook my arms under his to drag him across the couch to make room for his legs. When I got his head on a cushion that I hoped was comfortable enough, I grabbed his legs one at a time and pulled them onto the couch. But, he's so damn tall that his feet were hanging off the end.

_Oh well, it'll have to do._

That was a good workout. Now I feel more tired than I was last night. I sighed and picked up his legs again so I could sit, then put them back down on top of me. As weird as I felt being under his legs, I have to say it's way better than having my face in his crotch. Shiver.

I fell asleep easily but, what felt like 10 minutes later, my phone rang. Loudly.

I groaned and got up forgetting that Edward's legs were over me, landing them right on the floor again. Surprisingly, he still was asleep. I dragged myself into my room where my bag was and started digging for my phone. When I finally found it, it was on the last ring but I saw that it was Alice so I picked it up quickly.

I guess she could tell that I was still half asleep so she kept the conversation short only asking me if I got home alright and how the rest of my night went. She sounded very motherly. Now I feel like I should be calling her whenever I get to a destination to make sure she knows I'm still alive. I shook my head after I hung up the phone and let out a little laugh.

_Oh, Alice…_

I brought my phone back with me to the living room. I put it down on the end table so I can, once again, fix Edward's legs.

_How can he possibly still be sleeping?_

I took one of the extra cushions and put it on the floor, opting to lie down there instead. I let out a satisfied sigh as I relaxed. Now my back felt much, much better.

I think I got another good 30 or 40 minutes of sleep when:

_Ring. Ring. _

Another fucking phone call. You can probably tell than I am not in the mood anymore.

"Yes Emmett?" I picked up the phone.

"Oh shit. You were sleeping weren't you?" he asked sounding a bit scared…_good mwahahaha._

"Gee, how'd you guess." I replied sarcastically. It never matters how tired or conscious I am, I always use sarcasm when necessary.

"Sorry Bells, but Rose wanted me to ask you if you wanted to go with her to that cake tasting thing for Alice's wedding."

"Mmm cake, sure I'll go. Text me or email me later with the time and place." I said day dreaming about a good chocolate cake.

"No problem. Good night Bella." Emmett laughed.

"Good bye Emmett." I had to laugh too. Then I hung up.

Not 5 minutes later and it. Rang. AGAIN!

Right about now I was ready to inflict some serious pain on whoever was calling me. I grabbed the phone and yelled, "WHAT?"

At that Edward shot straight up looking around confused. _At least now I know he wasn't dead considering what he slept through._ When he noticed me I mouthed 'Sorry' to him and pointed at the phone.

Speaking of the phone, nobody had replied to my, oh so lovely greeting.

"Hello?" I tried again. Nothing. I looked at the screen to see who called but there was no name or number.

Unknown.

But I heard breathing on the other end. It's official that my life is now a damn cliché. If there was a crazy psychotic killer on the other end then I was in some deep shit. Then I wondered if it was Mike calling from jail or something.

"M-Mike?" I stuttered. Edward stopped rubbing his eyes and looked at me.

Still no answer.

Edward gestured for me to give him the phone.

I held it away from me and covered the mouth piece "I hear breathing but nobody is saying anything and the number is blocked." I explained before I gave him the phone.

"Hello?" he said angrily. Then he just looked at the phone in shock.

"What? What'd they say?"

"Nothing, they just hung up."

Yup my life is now a cliché. But I refuse to be the dumb bitch that runs into the closet or up the stairs when a psychopath goes on a rampage to kill me.

I'm not actually terrified because I know I have people here to help me and keep me safe. But I am still scared.

I got up and sat on the couch and put my head in my hands.

"It's gonna be okay, nobody's going to let whoever this is get to you. I'll have someone try and find the number from this call and we'll track them down. From now on we'll have to trace all of your calls from any numbers you don't know. We'll find this guy, I promise." He reassured me, rubbing my back.

I just nodded, thinking of who it could be. And why are they calling. And what they want.

I just hope that what Edward told me is true.

But then again…

"How can we even be sure that it was someone out to get me and not just someone who dialed the wrong number?" I asked.

"Well, I guess, we don't know for sure but just to be safe we should take precautions." He said.

I could tell he didn't think it was a wrong number but he didn't tell me that. "Okay, when do you want to get my phone checked or whatever you have to do?"

"Are you doing anything today?" he asked. I shook my head. "Well how about after breakfast?"

And right then my stomach growled.

"I'll take that as a yes." He laughed. I smiled shyly and followed him to the kitchen. "Would you mind if I cooked?" he asked.

"You cook?" I asked surprised

"Yup, I learned from my mom. Plus when you live with Emmett you always need a lot of food around." He laughed.

"Oh well ok, go ahead. I'll go take a quick shower." I said as I left the room.

The shower is always a good place to think.

_And get rid of the pain that's still in my back…and now my head. Great._

I took my clothes off as I waited for the water to warm up. When I saw a little smoke I figured t was hot enough and stepped in. The water felt great on my back and I felt the pain melting away. Ok, time to think now.

Who called me? I don't think it was Mike anymore because he's in jail and doesn't someone have to ask you if you wanted to talk to whoever was calling before they call? Maybe it's just me. I have a gut feeling that whoever called didn't call just to say 'hi'. But for now, until Edward can find the number of whoever called, I'm going to believe that it was a wrong number. But how creepy was it that they just stayed on the line the whole time? I mean seriously just say you got the wrong number. And then when Edward answered they just hung up. Crazies. Whatever, I just need to move on and forget about it. And when Edward finds the number he'll see that I was right and everything will be fine.

I sighed and got out of the shower and dried off. A few minutes later I was dressed and headed to the kitchen when I heard…Edward?

_Is he singing? Holy hell he is terrible!_

He was singing in a high pitched voice and completely off key. I think he's singing Monster. By Paramore…_a man after my own heart_. I laughed in my head. Hysterically. But I let that go on for too long and actually laughed out loud.

I quickly covered my mouth but it was too late; he stopped singing…or squealing. I turned the corner into the kitchen and saw him staring like a deer in headlights and I had to laugh again.

"Close your mouth you'll catch flies. And you'll burn the pancakes." I nodded to the pan in front of him. I sat down at the table in front of a place setting and stared at him, waiting for him to say something. And when he didn't, I did.

"That was a very appropriate song."

"What?" he asked nervously.

"You know, because you're a detective and in the song she says 'I'll stop the whole world from turning into a monster'."

"Oh, right." He kept his head down the whole time with his back facing me.

"Oh come on Edward. I won't hold this against you. Plus I can't sing either." I confessed.

He shook his head a little and turned around with a big plate stacked with pancackes.

_Mmmmmm, chocolate chip._

He smiled at me. "I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"Oh, don't worry. It's funny, and it's a good distraction." I laughed.

He laughed too as he set the plate down between us. I put 3 pancakes onto my plate and took a big bite. I might have moaned because those had to be the best pancakes I have ever had.

"Good?" Edward asked.

"Mmmhmm."

"I didn't burn it did I?"

I just shook my head and took another bite. "I think it might be missing something though." I got up and walked to the fridge and searched for the special ingredient. "Ah hah!" I turned around holding up a bottle of…

"Whipped cream? On pancackes?" Edward asked surprised.

"Hell yeah! It's the best part." I told him and sprayed a big dollop right in the middle of my stack and kept on eating. Eventually he took some too and the look on his face was priceless.

"Okay, I'll admit that even though this is completely unhealthy, it's really really good."

"Told you." I mocked him.

The rest of breakfast we spent talking about other weird toppings that we like and dislike on food.

Thankfully he agreed that pineapples on pizza are definitely weird.

When we finished I washed all our dishes and he dried. As much as that makes us sound like we are together, we're not. It's just…teamwork.

I swear.

Then he drove us over to his precinct to have my phone checked and traced.

"Callaghan! Can you do me a favor?" Edward asked one very sexy co-worker of his.

"Hey Cullen, what can I do?" he asked.

"I need you to find the number for and unknown caller on this phone." He put his hand in front of me asking for my phone. I gave it to him and looked back at Callaghan who was now staring at me. He snapped back when Edward started talking again. "Someone called this morning and I just want to make sure that it's not anyone that's bad news."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. By the way, who's your lady friend?" he asked looking at me.

"Oh this is Bella Swan. Bella this is Luke Callaghan, he does all that hacking and phone tracing stuff." Edward introduced us.

"Nice to meet you Bella." He said smiling and holding his hand out to me.

"Nice to meet you too." I shook his hand. "I hope it's not a lot to ask but do you think you could get this done today? I'm expecting a message so…"

"Oh, no problem I'll do it right now. Follow me." He said. He walked us to his office I assume and plugged my phone into a wire connected to his computer and started typing away. I sat down in one of the extra chairs and saw Edward sit next to me.

"You don't have anything to do today do you?" Edward asked.

"Nope, I don't start at the school until next week so I'm good. Although I would like to walk around and take some pictures later maybe."

"Ok, where do you go?"

"Anywhere, I kind of just wander around I don't really have a place in mind."

"You never get lost?"

"No because I use the GPS on my phone to get me back." I laughed.

"Oh, ok I guess that works." He laughed too. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all. It's nice to have some company once in a while."

"Okay so the number belongs to a guy named James Hunter. You know him?" Luke asked.

"Um, it sounds familiar but I can't place it." I tried remembering where I heard that name from.

"Well, that's who it is. Good luck finding out Bella. I hope for your sake it's just a wrong number." Luke said handing me my phone back.

"Thanks, me too." I said.

"Alright let's go." Edward said. "Thanks Callaghan."

"Anytime Cullen."

We walked out of his office and back to Edward's car.

On the way back to the apartment I was thinking about where I heard that name from because I'm sure that I did. Then my phone buzzed, I checked who texted me. Emmett..._oh thank god._ I sighed out of relief that its wasn't another random person.

_Hey, Bella. I hope you're not mad at me? :) Rosie said the place is called Silk Cakes. She said you'd know where it is and to meet us and Jasper at 3 tomorrow. Sorry for the short notice! Call later and let us know. –Emmett_

"Who was that?" Edward asked.

"It's just Emmett. He wants me to meet him Rose and Jasper at this place to taste cakes for the wedding. Wanna come?"

"Free cake? Of course I'll go." He had a big smile on his face.

I shook my head laughing, "It's not free but it is really good."

His face fell and I had to laugh again. _Men and their food._

"Oh well, cake is cake right? And if you say it's good then I'll try it." He said.

"Great! We have to be there at two tomorrow."

He nodded and abruptly changed topic, "So you like Callaghan?"

"What? I just met him! But he is pretty cute, why are you jealous?" I teased.

"Nope," he said a little unconvincingly "but he could be a little sketchy sometimes."

"Really? You seemed fine with him before." I asked confused.

"Yeah, but like I said only sometimes. Just be careful, okay?" he looked at me concerned.

"I'm a big girl, Edward. I'll be fine."

"I know you are I just…don't want anything else to happen again." He said softly. By now we were parked in a spot in the lot.

"He's not that kind of guy. And no, I don't know him but if he were that kind of guy you wouldn't be talking to him or asking favors. Am I right?" I asked facing him.

"Yeah, I guess. By the way, you might want to check your contacts list." He nodded to my phone.

Confused, I scrolled down the list and sure enough: _ Luke Callaghan._ I laughed and looked back at Edward. "How'd you know he put it in?"

He hesitated, "That's what she said. But I saw him entering it when we were talking." I slapped his arm for that joke but laughed with him nonetheless. I got out of the car still laughing and went into the building with Edward following me, into the elevator.

"I can't believe you cracked a 'that's what she said' joke."

"I can't help it anymore! I blame Emmett, he keeps saying it." He defended himself..or tried to.

I just laughed almost all the way to the apartment. I unlocked it and let us both in and told him "I think I'm gonna call Callaghan. Do you think that would be okay?"

"Well like you said, you're a big girl. Just be careful okay?" he asked and I nodded.

I went into my and quickly dialed Luke's number.

"Hello?"

"You know, it's not really smart to give a stranger your phone number."

He laughed "Hey Bella. I think it's pretty smart considering that you actually called."

"Touché. But what would I need your number for?"

"Well since I have work right now, let's not beat around the bush. Would you like to go to a bar with me? On a date?" he asked confidently.

I stalled on purpose, "Hmmm….sure I'll go. Saturday?"

"Sounds great. I'm really sorry but I do have a lot of work and I need to go."

"No problem, see you then." I hung up. I smiled excitedly and called Alice.

I'm a girl so naturally I call my friend and tell her. At least we don't squeal…at least I don't. And to prove my point Edward ran into the room only to see me flinching from the piercing squeal Alice let out. Through the pone! I told him it was just Alice and he walked out rolling his eyes.

However, that squeal was promptly cut off when I told her who I was going on a date with.

"What?" she yelled.

"What? I thought you were happy. Please tell me you haven't heard anything about his guy."

"No I've never heard of him I just…I thought you were going out with someone else."

"Who?"

"Never mind, it's nothing. What does he look like?" she asked getting excited.

"Uh, he has dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. About six feet tall and he has muscles but he's skinny. Does that make sense?"

"Muscular but skinny…kinda like Edward?" she asked.

"Is Edward muscular?"

"Definitely."

"Then yes."

After that the conversation turned to the cake tasting and ended on a good note.

_But who did she think I was going out with?_

I pushed that aside, grabbed my camera and headed to the living room. But Edward was nowhere to be found.

Soon enough I heard footsteps behind me and turned around to see him with his shirt wrapped around his head and arms and his torso completely naked.

_God damn he is muscular!_

Good thing his shirt was covering his face because I was definitely staring.

"Bella!" he yelled. I guess he didn't know I was right there.

"Yeah?"

"Oh, uh can you help me out here?"

Queue hysterical laughter.

"Are you seriously stuck in your shirt?" I asked still laughing.

"Yes, now can you please help me get it the fuck off." He asked annoyed. I couldn't stop myself from laughing though.

I hung my camera around my neck and led him to the couch and sat him down so I could reach.

"Put your arms straight up." I told him. I just grabbed a random part of the shirt and pulled. I had to keep pulling and tugging until I could get it off of his head. "There you are!" I said sarcastically when I pulled the shirt from his face. I laughed at his expression, "Okay you can put your arms down now." This time I pulled the shirt towards me to get it off his arms. _How is this not cutting off his circulation?_

I got it to his wrists when it got even more stuck. I tugged as hard as I could and he pulled the other way but it wouldn't budge. I pulled hard one last time but my hand slipped at the last second and I went flying backward. I ended up pulling Edward down landing him right on top of me. With the sleeves still around his wrists.

_Could my life get any more clichéd? I mean seriously?_

His face was close to mine and he was just staring at me.

Until I cleared my throat and looked away. "Maybe I should just cut them off." I said.

"Oh uh," he shook his head like he was trying to forget something, "Ok sure." He pushed himself up onto his knees, straddling me. I slid my legs out from under him, trying not to rub against him, and stood up. He used the couch to help himself up and followed me into the kitchen.

I grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting away at the damn shirt. We were both quiet the whole time.

_Awkward? Very._

Eventually I got the shirt off and handed it back to him. He unraveled it to look at the damage and there were about 5 holes all around it.

"Ooohhh, sorry." I said trying not to laugh.

"Oh you think this is funny? This was my favorite shirt since I was 19!" he said

"Nineteen? Well that explains why it didn't fit." This time I couldn't help a small laugh.

"It's not funny!" he looked a little annoyed but he knew it was funny.

"It actually is if you think about it."

"Oh really? Then why don't you wear it?" he handed me the shirt with a smug look on his face.

Of course I took it just to get on his nerves. "Fine." I grabbed it and headed back to my room. I put on a purple tank under the shirt and decided to just change my whole outfit.

My result was the tank with the shirt, bleached jeans, and combat boots. I loved dressing like this; it's always fun to me.

I walked out and saw Edward on the couch, with a shirt that actually fit, playing around with my camera. I cleared my throat and he looked up… and his jaw dropped.

_Success! One point for me!_

"Well?" I turned around for him and asked his opinion.

"Uh, it...looks good. Yeah, looks good." He said and looked away awkwardly.

"Just good?" I smirked.

"What do you want me to say?" he looked frustrated a little.

"I was hoping for sexy." I laughed inside.

He sighed, got up and walked over to me. "You look very sexy. Now can we go?" he asked

"Thank you." I smiled smugly and took my camera and keys off the table.

Taking pictures with Edward was fun. I got lots of scenery and candid shots. He pointed out some things that I missed and thought looked nice.

I even got some candid shots of Edward himself. But don't tell him.

I might invite him more often because I got more photos than usual and we talked a lot. It was comfortable and fun. After all that's happened today it was nice to just relax and do what I love most with a good friend.

A/N: It's weird how the longest chapter didn't take so long to update than the other chapters. I got the name Luke Callaghan from a show called Rookie Blue in case you didn't know. And yes they will go on a date BUT it won't last. Trust me. Hope you like it! Review please!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: hi there! So I got blocked with this chapter, so I decided to add what would have been the next chapter into this one. Hope it works...here you go! Enjoy!

Chapter 13

EPOV

"You ready?" I asked.

"I've been ready for ten minutes." Bella laughed.

"Really?"

"Yes, whoever said women take forever to get ready clearly has never met you." She got up and walked to the door.

"Are you calling me a woman?" I pretended to be offended.

"…Maybe."

"Oh really?" I tried to look intimidated but she just stood taller and faced me with her hands on her hips.

"Really. Maybe if you didn't take so long your manliness wouldn't be in jeopardy."

Ok see that's not fair! When she looks like that and she's so confident…it's harder for me to not tell her that I like her.

_Urgh, I feel like I'm in high school again. I'm the nerd who has the biggest crush on the cheerleader who doesn't like him that way at all. This sucks._

"Fine, I promise I won't take so long next time." I sighed.

"Good now let's go."

We silently made our way down in the elevator to the car when my phone started ringing.

"Detective Cullen." I answered.

"Cullen, we need you down at the shipping docks now. We got a lead on that drug ring." My boss said hurriedly.

"Oh…ok I'll be right there." I hung up.

"What happened?" Bella asked.

"I have to go to a stakeout right now. I'm sorry." I apologized.

"Why are you apologizing? It's your job, go do it. Just be careful, I watch all those cop shows and I know that someone always gets shot at a stakeout." She joked…almost.

"Those shows are way too dramatic. People only get shot sometimes and most of those people and the suspects." I tried to reassure her but I don't think I did a good job. Her eyes got really big. "Okay that wasn't the best thing to say-"

"Damn right!" she cut me off. "Just be careful okay?"

"Yes mom." I laughed. I was about to go back and get my gun and cuffs when I remembered, "Hey can you bring me back some cake?"

"Only if you come back in one piece." She smiled.

"Don't worry I'll be fine." I couldn't help myself anymore and I kissed her cheek and went back inside.

I quickly got my gun and cuffs and went back outside to get to the shipping dock.

_This is going to be a long day._

BPOV

The whole drive over to the cake testing, my cheek felt all tingly. When he kissed me I felt a shock but I'm not sure if it's the same one as when you rub your socks on the floor and touch a door knob. I tried to forget about it but my cheeks won't stop tingling.

When I finally got to Silk Cakes Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper were already there.

"Sorry, am I late?" just as I asked that someone brought out a platter with a whole bunch of little bites of cake.

"Nope your just in time." Jasper said smiling. "Where's Edward?"

"Oh he had to go to some stakeout thing so he couldn't make it. What about Alice, doesn't she want a say in what her cake tastes like?"

"She said she wanted to be surprised but I think she's testing me. You know how she always screws with my head." Jasper laughed.

"That makes sense." I laughed too, "Well, let's get started shall we?"

I turned to take my seat when I saw that Emmett's platter was already cleared. Jasper and I just shook our head while Rosalie slapped him in the back of his head and started yelling at him.

That's pretty much how the whole thing went. Rosalie spent most of the time ignoring Emmett while he begged for forgiveness. She, Jasper, and I actually too our time eating and judging the cake, we discussed to taste, texture, and looks of all the pieces we got and decided that the red velvet with cream cheese frosting was the winner.

The whole experience wasn't as fun as I thought it would be what with all the bickering but it could've been worse. After Rose and Emmett drove off I asked Jasper if he and Alice would come over and hang out for a while.

_Or until Edward gets back. _

I've gotten so used to having him around; being alone in my apartment didn't feel right anymore.

Jasper and Alice came over a few hours later and we just sat around vegging out. We played a few games, watched a couple movies, and ate a bunch of take out. Alice told me about all the things she had planned for the wedding. She was so excited about everything; I was really happy that she's happy…as cheesy as that sounds.

"So Bella, tell me again about your date." Alice said.

"I've already told you everything."

"You have a date?" Jasper asked.

"Yes I do." I smiled.

"Who's the lucky guy?" he started getting really happy.

"His name is Luke Callaghan. He works with Edward." I said. Jaspers' face fell. "What, why do you look like that?" I asked.

"What? Oh nothing, I just thought you were going out with someone else."

"You too?"

"What?" he looked confused.

"Alice said the same thing when I told her. Am I the only one who doesn't know who my date should be?" they just looked around awkwardly. "GUYS!" both of their head snapped to me.

"Bella, look, we just know someone who likes you, but we can't tell you who it is. You have to find out yourself." Alice said.

"What? Why can't you tell me?"

"Well he hasn't exactly told us that he liked you, we just kind of assumed that he did. But we can all read him and you like an open book." Alice explained.

"Seriously?" I got frustrated.

"Yes, Bella just trust us."

I sighed, "Fine, whatever. I'll probably never meet him anyway since I have no idea who he is."

They both started laughing. I decided to forget it because clearly these two are going crazy.

After sitting around for a few minutes we were all yawning like crazy.

"It's getting late, we should go Jazz." Alice said. Jasper just nodded. They got their things and I led them out.

"Bye guys," yawn, "I'll call you." They just waved and drove away.

I dragged myself back up to the apartment and got ready for bed. Just as I got out of the bathroom my cell phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked, my eyes already closed as I got to my bed and lay down.

"Hey, did I wake you up?" it was Edward.

"Oh hey, no I wasn't sleeping but I'm almost there. How's the stakeout going?"

"So far so good. I'm on coffee duty right now so I decided to call and say that this might take all night so I won't be over."

"Oh ok, no problem. Be safe, I have your cake."

"Thank you! And I will be safe don't worry. See you tomorrow."

"See ya." I hung up and fell asleep.

*the next afternoon*

"Alice I'm freaking out!" I said through the phone.

"Bella calm down! I'm sure everything will be okay." She said trying to pacify me.

"But what if it's not? What happens then?"

"You're going out for drinks, what's the worst that can happen?"

"I can spill everything then slip and fall…"

"Well you'll be sitting so you should be fine. Just breathe and calm down," she stopped and I heard talking in the background. "Bella I gotta go the movie is about to start."

"Oh alright, tell Jazz, Em and Rose I said 'hi'."

"I will, and stop freaking yourself out, you will be fine I swear."

"Thanks Ali. Bye." I hung up.

I had about an hour before I had to leave to meet Luke at the bar, so I decided to kill time by watching TV. I ended up watching a bad lifetime movie.

That lasted about ten minutes before I couldn't take it anymore. So I went to plan B.

Shower. I took a nice, long, hot shower and stayed until the water ran cold. I got out and got dressed again. A look at the clock showed I had about 20 more minutes so I went in my room and popped in my ear bud and listened to music. I couldn't exactly call anyone because Jasper, Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie were at the movies, Edward was on stakeout, and I didn't really want to chat with anyone else on my contacts list.

_Maybe I could text Edward instead of call. _That could work. I opened my phone and typed a message.

_Hey, I hope I'm not messing up ur stakeout. Im going to be pretty bored for the next 15 minutes or so and I didn't have anyone else to talk to…how's it going?-B_

A couple minutes later he responded:

_Hi there, ur not messing anything up don't worry. Sorry to hear that ur so bored. And nothing much is happening here but the case is almost closed. What's up with u?-E_

_I'm stalling…-B_

_For what?-E_

_My date, I'm kind of freaking out-B_

_Oh.-E_

_Yeah, what should I do? You know him better.-B_

_Just be yourself.-E_

_That's it?-B_

_Yup.-E_

_Okay, thanks. Well I should get going. Good luck on ur case, be safe!-B_

Be myself, that seemed easy enough. I grabbed my wallet and keys and made my way out. In a few short minutes I was walking through the door of the bar looking for Luke.

I saw him sitting on a stool talking to the bartender, I guess ordering a drink. I walked up to him and sat down.

"Hey." I said with a smile.

"Hi Bella." He smiled back awkwardly.

I turned to the bartender, "Can I have a Bud with lime please?" he nodded and handed me a bottle with a slice of lime shortly after.

"So, how's it going at work? Any creepy hackers?" I joked.

He laughed lightly, "Uh, it's been pretty uneventful, just finishing up a few cases. What about you, what do you do?"

"I'm a photographer, but for the winter I work in a school office. I don't start in school until next week though." I explained.

"Oh that's cool. How did you get into photography?" he seemed jittery.

"Well it was a good escape when I was little and I ended up being good at it." I gave him the watered down version of my history.

He kept looking around and occasionally would look at me. He took big gulps of his beer and I got really suspicious.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah why?" he got defensive.

"You just look jittery and nervous. Are you sure your fine?"

"Yes I'm sure. I'm sorry, so tell me about yourself Bella." He looked directly at me. He smiled and it seemed genuine.

We sat for almost an hour just learning about each other. It was going well but he bounced his leg the whole time. I wondered how he didn't lose feeling after all that. I didn't ask him again if he was okay before I insulted him.

I was on my third beer and was starting to feel looser and I was laughing more now. Things seemed to be getting better until my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number but I had a strange feeling so I motioned to Luke to give me a minute. I went outside and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Bella Swan?" a deep voice asked.

"Yes, who is this?"

"This is Detective Dan Wright. I worked with Detective Cullen on a case today. I'm afraid he's been shot."

My breath and heart stopped.

"Fortunately it was nothing too serious but he is in recovery right now and he's told me to call you to come to the hos-"

"Which hospital?" I cut him off.

"New York Presbyterian."

"I'll be right there." I hung up and ran back inside. "Luke I'm so sorry but I have to go right now. I'll call you later okay?" I said frantically. I dropped some money on the bar and left. I hurriedly got into my truck turned on the engine and sped off to the hospital on the verge of tears.

A/N: There is your first cliffy! Again sorry for the delay, major writers block. Review please!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Sorry for the cliff hanger and the crap ass chapter. I hope this makes up for it. Enjoy!

Chapter 14

EPOV

It's been 36 hours that I and Detective Wright have been sitting in our car staring at the small building across the street. We've seen activity on the fourth floor and only the fourth floor. These guys must be amateurs, lucky for us, because they stand in front of the window which has no curtains and pass each other huge bags of drugs.

We've got about 15 clear shots of the three of them trading and using said drugs. They made it painfully clear what they are doing, so after finally deciding that we have enough evidence, Wright declared. "We're going in." He picked up the radio and called for backup. Soon we had our guns out and pointed at the ground as we walked to the building as quickly as possible.

"I'll go around back and meet you on the third floor. From there we go up together." I said. Wright nodded in agreement. I ducked under windows as I walked to the back of the building.

I got to the back door and stopped to listen for any voices or noise on the other side. When I didn't hear anything I kicked it open and held my gun up, looking around for anyone. Not seeing anyone, I kept my gun up as I looked for a staircase. When I found one I hastily made my way up to the third floor.

It was way too quiet in this building, but I decided to ignore it and check up the building history later. I got to the third floor and got out of the stairwell. I noticed that there were only about two rooms on each floor.

I met with Wright in the middle of the floor and we went up the middle staircase with me following behind him. We walked up to the door slowly and waited a few seconds before he kicked open the door.

"FREEZE!" he yelled. The three guys put their hands up and turned toward us. They looked at the both of us with our guns pointed at them and they smiled. THEY FUCKING SMILED!

_Shit._

The three of them quickly reached for their guns. Wright and I immediately started shooting. No we didn't shoot them dead, we just…disabled them. We each hit one but the third guy got a shot in. At me.

"Fuck!" I yelled as my gun dropped. It hit behind my elbow and I recognized it as a pulse point. Which means I will lose blood. Fast.

Wright was able to shoot him and right after. Backup arrived and came in and cuffed them.

Before I passed out I took my belt off and tied it right above the shot wound and tightened it to stop the blood flow.

I sat up against a wall for an EMS to come help me out. I watched with hooded eyes as the cops took out the three guys and it seemed like forever before an EMS stood in front of me to take care of my arm. Unfortunately, as soon as someone came, I passed out.

BPOV

I was pretty much hyperventilating at that point.

I was about half way to the hospital and I was scared. Detective Wright said it wasn't a serious wound but he got shot for Christ's sakes! To me being shot isn't considered a small wound.

I had the steering wheel in a death grip as I floored it all the way to the hospital. In about 5 minutes I was parked and running into the emergency room. I'm pretty sure that I looked like a crazy psycho but I didn't care. I went up to the nurse's desk and asked, "Where's Edward Cullen?"

The nurse looked up at me a little scared, since I came out of nowhere.

"Who are you?" she asked calmly.

"I'm his friend. One of his co-workers called for me-"

"I'm sorry only family is allowed to visit." She interrupted me.

"It's okay she's with me." A man in a suit came up behind me.

The nurse nodded as he put his arm around me and led me to what I assume was Edward's room. Instead, though, he sat me down in the waiting room. He sat next to me and introduced himself.

"I'm Detective Wright, the one that called you. Edward's in surgery right now. He got hit in his arm but it hit an important artery and he lost a lot of blood. When we got here he was stable but I haven't been update since then so that's all I know." He explained calmly.

I just nodded and stared at the wall trying to control my breathing. I gripped the arm rests tightly and Detective Wright put a hand on my shoulder to try and soothe me. "He'll be fine, the doctors here are very good." Again I just nodded. He gave up and sat back with his hand back in his lap.

I leaned my head back and tried to relax. I must've fallen asleep because I was being shaken awake by Detective Wright and a doctor who was standing and watching me. When I was completely awake I was handed a cup of coffee. I took it and looked at the doctor expecting and explanation of how Edward is doing.

He sighed, "Well, Mr. Cullen has lost a significant amount of blood. We were able to identify his blood type and replace the blood as it left. We got the bullet out quiet easily as well. It didn't completely penetrate the brachial artery, which is the one located behind the elbow where he was shot. The bullet slid by the artery causing a small tear. We have successfully closed the tear in the artery and he is doing well in recovery. We are still giving him some blood and heavy painkillers so when he wakes up he will be a little out of it but he should be completely fine in about a week or two when both of his stitches are gone and the wounds have closed on their own." He gave a smile right at the end.

I let out a huff of breath that I didn't realize I was holding until he smiled. I slid back from the edge of my seat, slumped into it and sighed again. "When can I see him?" I asked quietly.

"Right now actually follow me." The doctor turned and walked down the hall and turned a couple of corners before stopping in front of a door. "He's still unconscious but he should wake up anytime between 3 and 4 hours from now." He opened the door and walked in holding it open for Detective Wright and I. He went to the heart monitor and the other machines and checked Edward's vitals.

I stood and stared at Edward. He wasn't as pale as I imagined he would be, only a few shades lighter than normal. Actually the only thing that really made him seem like he needed to be in the hospital was the bandage on his arm. There was a big patch of blood on it and just at the sight of it I got a little dizzy. I silently made my way over to the chair by the bed and sat down. Just after the doctor announced that he would be back in a while, Detective Wright said he needed to get back to the precinct and left.

Now that I see that Edward was okay I felt how tired I was. I guess the power nap I had in the waiting room didn't do much. I got as comfortable as I could on the chair, and right as I was about to close my eyes, I noticed a little cot in the corner of the room. It was way more comfortable than I thought. I fell asleep almost instantly.

It didn't last too long though because I had a really weird dream about drugs. It was quiet like when you have a movie on mute. I could see a guy talking but I couldn't hear him. I was just sitting watching him smoke. I couldn't move and I was getting more and more scared. Then he pulled a gun on me. I just froze…I could see his finger moving slowly almost about to pull the trigger. Then I woke up.

"Sounds like some dream you were having there." Someone said.

I sat up and looked around with one eye while I rubbed the other one. The doctor from before was there again at the heart monitor looking at me. "Oh…yeah. What time is it?" I asked groggily.

"It's almost 11:30; you've been out for a good three hours." He chuckled.

"Oh, did he wake up?" I looked over at Edward. He seemed to be pretty much the same as last time.

"No, not yet but he should any minute. Don't worry okay? I'll be back when he's up." He offered a small smile and left.

I got up and stretched before I moved the chair over to the bed, so I sat next to Edward's head. I sat for a minute thinking of what to do. I turned on the TV, then I realized that everyone is probably freaking out…or completely oblivious. I stepped just outside of the room and called Alice. With her gossip habits, everyone else will know about 2 minutes after I tell her.

"Hello?" Alice answered on the second ring.

"Hey, how was the movie?" I asked, stalling.

"Bella! Where the hell have you been? I tried calling you after the movie was over-"

"Alice calm down. I'm at the hospital with Edward."

"WHAT?" she screeched.

"Everything's fine just- is everyone else there with you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Put me on speaker and I'll explain."

I heard a beep and then "BELLA! WHAT'S UP?" Emmett yelled.

"I'm at the hospital with Edward, before you freak out let me explain." I took a deep breath. "So Edward was on a stakeout and he got shot. It wasn't anything too serious. He just lost some blood but the doctors were able to replace it and close up the bullet wound and he should be awake any minute." I explained quickly.

Everyone was silent for a few seconds before they all started talking and/or yelling all at the same time.

"Whoa whoa guys calm down!"

"We're on our way right now." Alice said before she hung up.

I huffed and went back inside. I plopped into the chair and went back to channel surfing on the small TV.

"Hey, I was watching that." I jumped. I turned and saw Edward smiling at me.

"You're awake!" I yelled and tried to hug him. He laughed and put his good arm around me. Then I pulled back, "What the hell is wrong with you I almost had a heart attack!" I laughed.

"I'm sorry but I can't exactly stop a bullet." He laughed. "So what happened? When I got here what did they do?"

"Well the doctor said that the bullet only tore the vein in your arm it didn't completely split it open. They closed everything and replaced your lost blood and all that good stuff. You should be fine in no time." I smiled.

"Really? That seems a little too easy." He said skeptically.

"Well I'm just the messenger; I wasn't the one who operated."

"True." He relented.

"Unfortunately, you know what this means."

"What?" he looked panicked for a second.

"No cake for you." I started laughing hysterically.

"Geez Bella, way to scare the shit out of a guy."

"Well it serves you right. But you save me from a mildly awkward date."

His face fell, "Oh I forgot about that. Didn't go too well?" he asked uninterested, now looking at the TV.

"Well at the beginning he was acting weird but the rest of it was okay I guess. You were right, he is a weirdo." I smiled.

"I didn't say he was a weirdo I said he was shady, but I'll take what I can get." He smiled a little.

We were silent for a few seconds "I'm glad you're okay, Edward." I held his hand, he smiled back.

"So I hope that all of this was worth it. Did you get the guys you were staking out?"

"Yeah, they're done but I don't think we got all of them."

"What do you mean?"

"Well there was three of them and they all smiled when we walked in. I felt like they wanted us to find them. Like it was a trap."

"So what now you have to find their leader or something?"

"Well we have to figure out who it is first. We have them in custody though so it shouldn't be long."

"What did they do?"

"I can't tell you, it's an ongoing case."

"But you have them in custody! What harm is it gonna do if I know?"

He sighed, "They run a drug ring between here and Central America."

"Like…marijuana?"

"Yeah why? Did you hear something." He asked eagerly.

"Actually the opposite." I said remembering my dream. He looked at me confused, "I had a weird dream. It probably doesn't have anything to do with the case but basically I was tied or paralyzed or something; I couldn't move. It was just me and some guy with blonde hair up to his shoulders. He was smoking weed right in front of me and he was talking but it was like everything was on mute. I couldn't hear anything. But it was just a weird, stupid dream it doesn't mean anything. Just forget it." I smiled

"Mr. Cullen, welcome back! You gave your girlfriend quite a scare." The doctor walked back in.

"Oh, um..I'm not- I'm not his girlfriend…"

"Oh, sorry I just assumed…well I guess you know what they about that." He laughed awkwardly. Edward and I just looked at him confused. "Don't assume or you'll make an ass out of you and me." He clarified.

"That makes sense." I mumbled awkwardly.

"Yeah…" he checked Edward's vitals again, I just focused on the TV.

Just before he left Emmett, Rose, Jasper, and Alice walked in asking questions at the same time. When they saw that Edward was okay they started expressing their relief at the same time. I got up and caught his eye. I just smiled and left. I went down to the cafeteria and ate as I thought about what we talked about and what the doctor said.

_Did it really look like we were together?_ _Wait…could Alice have been talking about Edward when I told her about my date?_

I shook the thought off and went back to Edward and my conversation.

As I sat eating a bag of baby carrots, I remembered who James hunter was.

A/N: I hope this made up for last chapter. This cliffy isn't as deep but it still is one. Review please!


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: If you read the sneak peek of the chapter that this replaced then skip over the italics, if not then read on! Enjoy!

BPOV

_Sitting in the corner of the cafeteria with my one and only friend Angela didn't do well on the high school 'food chain'. But I honestly didn't care. Whatever nasty looks we got from the jocks, cheerleaders-pretty much everybody- we ignored. But one guy was just a straight up dick hole. He constantly threw his lunch at us. He always missed because he was high on whatever but today he was spot on._

_One after the other bits and pieces of his lunch hit the back of my head. The first couple of times I thought it were just falling leaves since we were actually eating outside. But after a while the pieces got bigger. I reached back and wiped my hair with my palm. It felt wet but there were no crumbs or anything. I looked at the floor and saw a pile of baby carrots. I slowly turned my head up and glared and him._

_James Hunter. The school crack head._

_I got up and walked right up to his table. He had his back turned to me so I easily put my arm around him with the inside of my elbow at the front of his neck. I squeezed until he turned red. He tried so hard to get me to let go but when your father is a cop you know how to protect yourself. I didn't completely suffocate him…I just smothered him into oblivion. The other guy at the table just looked at me with wide eyes._

_James turned to look at me out of breath. Before he had the chance to curse me the fuck out I punched him._

"_Don't ever fuck with us again. You can glare and talk all you want but if you ever get physical in any way with us I will not hesitate to knock you the fuck out."_

_Still slightly out of breath he stood up to face me. I took a step back with my hands on my hips waiting for him to blow up._

"_Listen you stupid bitch, you don't mean anything. Nobody cares about you, so just because you tell me to stop doesn't mean I will. You hit like a punk anyway." He snarled. I knew for a fact he was lying because his cheek was already bruising. The whole cafeteria was watching and I'm pretty sure they all saw it turning blue and black too._

"_Bite me asshat." _

_He was about to lunge at me but his friend came between us and pushed him back. "Bro, calm the fuck down! You stupidly started all this shit. Leave her alone. She never did anything to you." Then he turned to me._

"_Are you okay?" he asked putting his hands on my shoulders._

"_I'm fine."_

"_But your hand…" he looked down._

_I brought my hand up to look at it and saw a small cut bleeding on my knuckles._

"_Come on, I'll take you to the nurse and clean it up." He grabbed my wrist and led me to the doors._

_He stopped before walking out and turned back. "I'm tired of your games Jay. I'm done."_

"_Fine, I don't need you! I'll still have her one day!" James yelled as we walked away._

_The walk to the nurse's office was a blur. I was quiet and seething and also confused and a little scared at what James said. What did he mean he'll 'have me'? I thought and seethed for god knows how long. When I snapped out of it, James' friend had my hand cleaned, creamed and he was starting to put a piece of gauze over it. _

"_Why are you helping me?" I asked._

"_Because James has been play stupid, rude, cynical games with everyone and I was getting tired of him being an ass. I can't take it anymore and being associated to him wasn't helping my ego." He laughed softly through his nose._

"_Thanks." I mumbled not completely believing him._

_He looked up at me and his eyes were so deep and blue. "I'm Mike."_

Shit. _Fuck!_

So now I know who he is; now what? Do I tell Edward? No he needs to rest and heal. Luke? No he was acting too weird; I'm not talking to him again. What do I do?

After much internal rambling and ranting, I decided to tell Edward tonight. I sighed and leaned forward to put my elbows on the table, and my head in my hands. I rubbed my face a few times when my phone vibrated signaling a new text message.

I opened it and saw Alice asking '**where did you go?'**. Thinking something bad happened I quickly replied that I was in the cafeteria and on my way back to Edward's room. I rushed to throw my garbage out and sprinted to the elevator. When it finally stopped-I seriously think that elevators purposely go slower when you need it the most- I jogged to the room and asked out of breath, "What happened?"

Everyone turned to look at me. "What?"

"Why are you panting?" Emmett asked.

"Alice texted me and I thought something happened." I explained regaining my breath. I looked over at Edward who seemed to be holding back laughter. "What the fuck Alice! I was having an epiphany!" I said starting to laugh myself.

"I just wanted to know where you were to tell you that visiting hours are almost over. What was this epiphany you had?" she said raising her eyebrow.

"It's um...something to do with my case." I looked back at Edward who looked completely serious now. "I know who he is. James, I know who he is."

EPOV

Holy shit!

"Uh, guys could you give us a minute please?" I asked

"We should just head home. See you tomorrow, Edward." Alice said with a small smile. I smiled back as they all filed out.

"Sit down." I motioned her toward the chair beside my bed, when the door closed behind everyone. She sat down slowly and leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. "Are you absolutely sure you know who he is?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." She took a deep breath and cleared her throat before continuing, "He was basically the school druggie. My friend Angela and I were the losers." She rolled her eyes. "Everyone always gave us looks, and talk behind our backs, but James was the only one who would actually come up to us and say it to our face. One day he pushed it too far and started throwing his lunch at me so I went up to him and punched him to make him stop. Mike was his friend up until that day. When he was about to take me to the nurse James yelled that 'he'll have me someday'. I didn't really think much of it until now."

"Well, do you know how he could've gotten your phone number?" I asked. She just shook her head. "Do you think Mike might've given it to him?"

"No after that day Mike never spoke to James again, as far as I know."

We were silent for a few minutes trying to figure it out. "Wait, you said that before- the incident, he was being distant? Like he was going out more?"

"Yeah, he would go out in the evening and not come back until early morning. Why?"

"Do you think maybe he was meeting with James? Think back, do you remember him acting any differently than him being distant? Did he smell like drugs?"

"The first time it happened, he smelled like alcohol and cigarettes, but he doesn't smoke. After that he was going out more but I didn't notice any difference in his attitude…although he did come back with a black eye one day…"

"Did he tell you who he fought with?"

"No, he said it wasn't important."

"I'm sorry Bella but I really think he was seeing James. Maybe James made him do all those things to you and himself. We need to talk to Mike."

She sighed, "Alright, _you_ talk to him. I don't want to see him ever again." Rage flooded her face.

"It's okay, we'll finish this and everything will be fine. I promise." I put my hand on top of hers.

"How, you're in the hospital?"

"I'm getting out soon. I got shot in the arm, I didn't jump off a cliff." I chuckled. She scowled at me. "Too soon?"

"Ya think?"

"Sorry." I looked down. Just then the doctor came in to check up on me again.

As he was changing the dressing on the bullet wound he announced, "Well Mr. Cullen, it seems that you heal quickly. The wound is still open but it is closing up very nicely. If it keeps healing like this then you might be released tomorrow evening." He smiled.

"Really?" Bella said sitting up.

"Absolutely, I see no reason for him to stay any longer than he'll need to." With the smile still on his face he walked out.

I'm starting to think this guy is a little too happy.

"See, I'll be out in no time and we can get started right away. But for now you should call my superior. He'll track James' number and find him. Don't worry."

I definitely didn't think it would be that easy but I didn't want Bella freaking out either. Chief would have to have Luke track James number again, find his phone records, and initiate the GPS. Then they'll need a shit load of squad cars to find him and detain him. If he was this good at hiding all these years, tracking Bella down and taunting her while not getting caught, it's certain he's waiting for us to find him, then leave. I'm sure he's a sneaky motherfucker.

…Wait

_Waiting for us to find him…_

Shit.

"What?" Bella looked at me panicked.

"Well you know how I said those guys were when we busted in on that stake out? That they smiled and shit?" she nodded. "Do you think it would be possible that James worked with them?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. I mean like I said he was the school crack head. But you said you have those guys locked up already right?

"Right, but if those were only a few of those guys, and James is one of them, we never know how many people are actually involved." There is also a possibility that James has help in taunting Bella, but I didn't tell her that.

"So… what do we do?" she asked.

"Give me your phone." I held my hand out. When she handed it to me I typed in my boss' number. "Call my boss and tell him everything. He'll have James tracked and found and possibly end this drug ring."

She nodded and said "While I'm out I'll get an all night pass." Then walked out with the phone to her ear.

This was going to be tough. If James really was working in the drug ring then we'd have a lot of shit on him. If he wasn't…hell we'll still have shit on him. Possession of drugs and paraphernalia and harassment. And apparently he's good at hiding under the radar so finding him might not be so easy. As soon as I get out, the first thing I'm going to do is interrogate those guys and find out who they work for, and with, and if James is one of them. That might give us a better clue as to where he is. And if he's here to have Bella, we need to find him fast. It'll be a cold day in hell before he even touches her.

While Bella was talking to the Chief, I was planning how to get James and what to do with him. While all these plans were forming I fell asleep.

_I heard him berating my mother. And I heard her screaming. But I couldn't do anything and that made me cry harder. I clung onto my stuffed dinosaur tighter and tried to block out all the screams and cries but it wasn't working. I started to rock back and forth with my back hitting the wall of the closet._

_The screams start to get high pitched. It doesn't sound like my mom. The door to the closet opens and Bella is standing there bruised and panting yelling at me to run. Before I could move though, someone came up behind her, puller her head back by her hair, and put a blade to her neck._

"_Say goodbye" he said sinisterly. His eyes glowed with pleasure right before he slit her neck. She fell forward right in front of me and I just sat staring at her._

_My breaths started coming faster right before I yelled at the top of my lungs "__**NOOOO!"**_

I shot straight up in the hospital bed sweating and panting. I looked around before realizing it was just a dream…almost.

I looked over and saw Bella tossing and turning on the cot by the window.

"Stop please." She mumbled.

She was having a nightmare too. Knowing that I couldn't get out of bed I tried to talk her to wake her up.

"Bella, wake up, it's just a dream... Bella, please wake up... Bella!"

She woke up with a gasp and looked around the room. When her eyes finally got to me I smiled.

Then she started crying and I didn't know what the fuck to do.

"Shit, Bella stop crying, please. Everything's fine it was just a dream." I sighed. "Come over here." I waved her over.

She came and lay down next to me and I put my arm around her, just opting to let her cry. Eventually she fell asleep again and I followed suit.

Before I knew it, it was the next day. And it was noon. I haven't slept in that late in years. I looked around for Bella but she wasn't in the room. I guessed she went home or something. I turned the TV on to try and distract myself from thinking about last night. I didn't want to think about my dream and I didn't want to think about what Bella's dream was.

I completely zoned out while I was watching the news that I barely noticed the doctor coming in again.

"Well, Mr. Cullen, I think you'll be glad to hear that you're being released." He announced as he removed all the tubes and shit from where they were taped to my skin. "As long as you keep your elbow wrapped tightly and try not to use that arm too much, you should be completely healed in a week or two." He smiled and handed me the release papers. I grinned and grabbed the papers signing my name wherever I needed to, ready to leave and get back to work. I handed him back the papers and he told me, "I'll be back with your clothes in a few minutes." before he left.

As promised, 3 minutes later he came back with a bag full of my clothes. And to my surprise, everyone walked in behind him. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're going out to have a celebratory lunch, now that you're all better. One day of bad hospital food is enough for you." Emmett said.

"I could go for some teriyaki chicken." I said.

Lunch was pretty uneventful except for one topic that got all of our attentions and effectively distracted me.

Halloween.

Of course Alice was the one to bring it up.

"So Bella, do you want to go trick or treating?"

"Seriously? Aren't we a little too old for that?"

"Since when was there an age limit for getting free candy. Plus it's fun to dress up and be someone else! Come on, Rose and I are already deciding what to go as and," she turned to Jasper and Emmett, "we are going to do a couples costume so you tow are going too." They both groaned. I snickered.

"What the fuck are you laughing at. You're going too."

"What? Nononono. No I'm not!" I said.

"Yes you are. In fact, you and Bella should do a couple costume too." She smirked.

Bella and I looked at each other with wide eyes, but didn't say anything. We both just knew that there's no use fighting Alice because either way, she gets what she wants.

I just sighed and ignored the rest of that conversation. I'll find out what I have to be when the holiday comes. I vaguely heard something about cop costumes but I'm not sure who that was for. I tried to block the girls out by talking to the guys but they were as frustrated as I was about dressing up in stupid costumes to get candy.

But from then on, everything went fine. We walked around the city after we ate, until it started getting dark. Then we all split up and went to our respective houses. Well…I went to Bella's place but you know what I mean.

We had a quick chat about what happened when she called Chief. She basically told me everything I already knew. They're going to try and track him down via his phone records.

Knowing that there was nothing we could do for the rest of the day, we just sat and watched a movie and ate junk food.

Just as Milla Jovovich was about to shoot down some more zombies, my cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Cullen, I heard you were out of the hospital. Are you good to work again?" Chief asked.

"Yea I should be why, we got a new case?"

"No, but I need you her first thing tomorrow morning. And bring the girl with you."

"Why what happened?" I asked getting nervous.

Then he told me something I definitely wasn't expecting. I hung up the phone in shock and I guess the look on my face showed as much because Bella asked, "What happened? Did they find something?"

I shook my head slowly.

"Then what, what's going on?"

I turned to look at her. "Luke is dead."

A/N: well? Good? Bad? Anything? Review and let me know!


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: I'm not sure if anyone realized, but I noticed an inconsistency in one of the earlier chapters. I'm not going to change it because it might change the whole chapter and therefore the whole story, so if something doesn't make sense or is inconsistent, just let me know and if I can't fix it…just ignore it the best you can. It's only minor details. Enjoy!

BPOV

"H-he what?"

"He's dead." Edward said wide-eyed. "They got a call saying someone heard gunshots, and they found him in his apartment. They need me to go in tomorrow and look at the scene."

I slowly lowered myself into the loveseat behind me. _He's gone._

"We'll I might've been the last person to see him; is there anything I can do?" I asked tears pricking my eyes?

"I don't know, maybe. But not tonight, we should get some sleep. Today was a long day and tomorrow might be worse." He said. Edward seemed to be in a trance. Everything he said was monotonous, and his eyes were transfixed on the carpet at his feet. He was obviously never a big fan of Luke, but he lost a co-worker.

I got up and walked over to the chair he was sitting on. I sat on the arm of the chair and put my arm around his shoulders, squeezing gently. "I don't think either one of us will be getting any sleep." He sighed and leaned into me.

"We should still lay down at least, and just rest." He mumbled.

"Okay, well um, I'll go take a quick shower and get ready for bed then. You still have some clothes and stuff in the guest room right?" I asked. He just nodded. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He understood what I was really asking. _Can you handle this tonight?_

"Alright, I'll be right back." I gave him one final squeeze and pecked the top of his head before heading to the shower.

_How could he be dead? Was he jittery because he knew someone was after him?_ Then I realized that Edward never said if it was murder or…suicide. _Was Luke planning on killing himself? Was that why he was acting nervous and shit? _"Oh fuck." I whispered into the water that was now mixing with tears. _But the day before he was completely fine! He couldn't just decide in a day that he wanted to off himself, that doesn't make sense. But who the fuck would want to kill him either? _Edward said he was shady but I knew found out the extent of it. Was he doing work in the black market or something?

_This is way too much._

Sooner than I had hoped, the water started running cold. I quickly got out and towel dried myself, walking back into my room. I threw on some warm fleece pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. I walked back into the living room to make sure Edward actually went to bed. When I saw that the room was empty I went to the guest room. I knocked softly in case he was still dressing, but I didn't hear anything. No movement and no response to my knock. I slowly opened the door and peeked in. He was sitting at the end of the bed in his pajamas with his head in his hands.

I walked over and sat next to him. "He might've been shady but he really wasn't a bad guy. I just didn't try to get to know him." His hands muffling his voice. I just sat quiet, listening to him, although he didn't really say anything else.

After a few minutes without him moving, I tried to persuade him into lying down. It took a while but he finally fell back onto the pillows. I laid back next to him and said, "I'm sure he didn't hold it against you, Edward."

"Fuck. This sucks." He sighed.

"I know, but the only way to get through is to believe that they're better off wherever they are. People die all the time. Sometimes it's a friend or family member but you have to stay strong and be able to move on and live your life not wondering what they're missing in theirs."

"How do _you_ stay so strong?"

"When I was little, my grandfather and his sister died in a car accident. At their funeral I didn't cry, my eyes never even got watery. I do miss them something fierce but I guess I'm just not someone who mourns for them. No matter what I do they're gone and it's going to stay that way, and I'm okay with it. This happens all the time."

"You never cried? Like, at all."

"Nope."

"Damn."

We were quiet for a few minutes before I got an idea. "I'll be right back." I said before I got up and went into my room. I grabbed my iPod off my nightstand and plugged the headphones into it.

I scrolled through my songs and playlists as I walked back to the guest room. I pulled up the playlist labeled '_Slow Songs' _and handed Edward one of the earphones, and plugged one into my own ear.

I lay back down and pressed shuffle. I closed my eyes and let the soft strums of two guitars calm me down. I only hope it did the same for Edward. I peeked open one eye to look at him and saw both of his closed. He looked calm to me.

"What song is this?" he whispered.

"Misguided ghosts, by Paramore."

"It's nice." He spoke so low I barely heard him. By the time the song finished he fell asleep.

"Well that was easy." I took the earphone out of his ear without waking him. I tried not to shake the bed as I rolled out, but Edward rolled too and threw his arm across me and fisted my shirt. I froze for a few seconds before I tried to pry his fingers from my shirt. It took a while but I finally got free. Damn, even in his sleep he has a death grip. I quickly padded to my room and under the covers.

I tried for a good while to fall asleep but it wouldn't happen. I tried counting; after 300 I stopped. I shifted positions every two minutes. I flipped my pillow to the cool side. Nothing worked, so I decided to just make some tea and watch Jay Leno.

I dragged myself to the kitchen and poured some water in my mug, and put it in the microwave. While it was heating up I thought about trying that new creamer. When the microwave dinged I settled on trying a little of it. I threw in the sugar and creamer and settled into the couch. I turned it on to Jay Leno, only to see that nobody interesting is on tonight. I started to flip through the channels for a good five minutes when I saw Transformers playing.

Since it had already started, I began watching from when Bumblebee was playing Barry White to Mikaela. My tea had finished when they cuffed the cops to each other. I had a bathroom break and washed my cup while it went on commercial. And by the time Sam finally saw Megatron, my eyes were drooping.

The sun was shining right into my eyes when I woke up. I got up and looked around before I remembered that I fell asleep in the living room. I wiped the sleep out of my eyes and got up to stretch out my muscles. I was headed to the bathroom when I heard a hissing sound in the kitchen. I walked over and saw Edward and Alice cooking. Well, Alice was sitting at the island reading a magazine and Edward was cooking. Then I realized that the hissing was just the food hitting the pan. I took a deep breath trying to determine what he was making.

_Mmmm, French toast._

"Oh! Good morning Bella! We didn't wake you did we?" Alice asked. I just shook.

She handed me a cup of coffee, knowing that I'm a mute before my first cup. I took a sip...then another.

"You didn't wake me Alice, and Edward, that smells really good. You cook?" I looked at him.

"Only this; my aunt, Emmett's mom, taught me how."

"Well, it smells so good I can't wait to try it." He smiled and turned back to the pan.

"Oh before I forget, Bella, when you finish up at the station, you're coming with rose and I to look at some Halloween costumes." She started hopping in her seat. I just groaned and dropped my head onto the island. "Oh come on! It's not that bad! It'll be fun, it's costumes for Christ's sake!"

"Yeah, but last year you made me dress as a nurse, and the lab coat just barely passed my ass."

Edward dropped the spatula onto the floor. He turned, cleared his throat, and mumbled "Sorry" before throwing it into the sink and getting another one.

Alice was trying not to laugh the whole time, but eventually she got back into the conversation. "Bella you got a cold and didn't even go that year."

"Thankfully." I mumbled putting my mug up to my mouth. Alice slapped my arm and made the coffee splash around but it, surprisingly, didn't spill. "Hey!"

"What is wrong with you people? Halloween is fun!"

"It's boring just walking around asking people for candy. And most of it isn't even good!"

She huffed. "What about if we threw a party and invited everyone. Ooooh! We can have a masquerade ball!"

I thought about it, "That actually doesn't sound too bad." I conceded.

She squealed, and Edward dropped the spatula again. Alice jumped off her chair and hopped onto me nearly knocking me off of mine. I had to grab onto the island and hold on for dear life so I wouldn't actually fall over with her jumping on me.

"Uh can I get a little help over here, butterfingers?" I asked Edward.

He rolled his eyes and announced, "Breakfast is served." He brought over a big plate of the French toast to the table in the corner of what I call the dining room. Alice followed after him, and I after her. Edward then made a second trip for a plate of bacon, and a bottle of maple syrup.

We all ate in silence with a few moans of appreciation from Alice and I. That French toast became my favorite breakfast. And the bacon was perfectly crispy. Between the three of us, we managed to finish it all within ten minutes.

Sooner than I had hoped, we were on our way to the station. Edward managed to pull a few strings that allowed Alice to stay with me. He drove us to the station but didn't get out, which made me really nervous. It helped having him with me to know that whoever was questioning me, wasn't pushing it too far. I don't know, it made sense to me.

"Where are you going?" I asked through the passenger window.

"I have to go to the crime scene, just to get a feel of what happened." He explained.

"Alright, well be safe."

"I will, mom don't worry." He joked.

I rolled my eyes and stepped back so he could drive off.

"You okay?" Alice asked. I nodded. The next half hour was a blur. I was so nervous and anxious; I kind of just spaced out the entire time. Luke is dead, and while he did act weird I highly doubt that he deserved it. He died the day after out date. Hell, he probably died that night and they didn't find him until the next day. If Edward hadn't gotten hurt, if I had stayed with Luke, I probably would've been dead too.

"Isabella Swan?" I jumped when a loud, deep voice called me. I stood up and walked toward a tall man with a beer gut. I assumed this was Edward's, chief.

"I'm Chief Howard. I'll be interrogating you. Follow me." He sounded very cold. I followed him into the same room I was held in after- well, you know.

"Can I get you anything, coffee, water?" Chief Howard asked as he sat down.

"No, I'm fine, thank you." I took a deep breath. "Can we just get this over with?"

"Alright, you and Detective Callaghan were on a date two nights ago, correct?"

"Yes."

"Did you notice any odd behavior?"

"Yeah, he was bouncing his leg a lot and kind of hesitated between questions. He just was nervous I guess, but after a while he seemed to relax."

"Did he talk about himself at all? Did he look sad or depressed?"

"No." _Depressed?_

"How did the date end? Where did he take you?"

"The whole time we were just in a bar, having some beers. It ended when I got a call from Detective Wright saying that Edward was in the hospital. I apologized to Luke and said I had to go. Then I just left, he didn't call or mention anything to me afterwards, so I don't know where he went when I left."

"What did you talk about?"

"Nothing significant, just about our childhoods, school, friends. The usual first date stuff."

"Did he mention anything bad about his childhood?"

"The only bad thing about his childhood was when his bike broke. He seemed to have it easy."

"No bullies or abusive friends or family?"

"Not at all, he talked well about his friends and family."

"Huh." He grunted.

"What?" I was getting more nervous.

"I'm sorry to say this, but Luke committed suicide. When his body was found the gun was in his hand. However, considering what you've said, it doesn't make sense as to why he would do that."

I put my face in my hands, and my elbows on the table, tears stinging my eyes.

"I'll give you a few minutes." Chief Howard said before he left.

I slammed my fist onto the table and sat back with a sigh. _ What the fuck!_ I feel like I can't trust anybody anymore. First Mike now Luke…. Why would Luke want to kill himself anyways? It makes no sense! He wasn't depressed, he seemed fine. This is just so _frustrating!_ I rubbed my face and wiped my tears off.

"Miss Swan? You're free to go." Chief popped his head in. I stood up and made my way to Alice who was still sitting where she was before.

"Hey…whoa, are you okay?" I knew what I looked like. I knew my eyes were red along with my cheeks. My eyebrows were furrowed, my jaw was set, and my mouth was a tight line. I was sad, furious, and frustrated at the same time. I knew it wasn't pretty.

"Fine. Can we just go, I need the distraction." I asked.

"Of course, let's go get a cab. We'll go to my place and get my car." I nodded. We quickly got a cab straight to her house, got into her car and were on our way to the mall. It may have been a good while but it seemed fast to me.

When we got to the mall, naturally, the first place Alice went to was Victoria's Secret. "If you're going to dress me as a stripper I'm not going to the Masquerade." I said sternly.

"Will you calm down; I'm not dressing you in anything trashy. But we all will need the right underwear for our dresses. Nobody wants to see panty lines."

I cringed, "Please don't say that word."

"What word?" she knew exactly what I was talking about.

"A certain piece of underwear."

"You mean…PANTIES!" she yelled in my ear.

By now I've gotten used to her yelling. "Yes…that. It's awkward and uncomfortable to say."

"You're so weird, Bella." She laughed. And just like that, I was distracted.

EPOV

When I dropped Bella and Alice off, I immediately switched into work-mode. I didn't need my thoughts distracting me. I had to look carefully at all the details and evidence to find something. And I'd have to do it quick because the coroner needs the body soon.

I pulled up to Detective Callaghan's apartment, preparing myself for the scene. I walked in and flashed my badge to whoever was at the desk, and walked onto an elevator and made my way up. I walked to the door with the caution tape over it, flashed my badge again to the cop at the door so he could let me inside. It was only the one cop so it was quiet.

As soon as I walked in, the smell of a decaying body hit me; it was disgusting but by now I was used to it. Luke's body was right in front, in the living room. a large pool of blood stained the rug, and small splatters covered the wall next to it. I was told it was suicide but there was no suicide note, so that was an immediate red flag. There was a bullet hole in his right temple, and the gun in his right hand. That was all I had to see to seal the deal.

I knew for a fact that Luke Callaghan was left handed. Not right handed or ambidextrous. Strictly left handed.

Luke Callaghan was murdered.

A/N: Well? The last EPOV was meant to be super short, just to say that Luke was murdered. What do you think about that? Who do you think did it? Could it be why he was acting weird on that date? Review and let me know!

P.S. I would love to hear any ideas for the couples Halloween Masquerade Ball. If you have any fantasies or suggestions for their costumes, tell me and there will be a good chance I'll follow it. :)


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: please don't shoot! That's Edward's job ;). School's been getting in the way:( I'll try harder to update faster.

EPOV

After telling the Chief that it was in fact a murder, he promptly took me off the case for conflict of interest. Nobody in our department was to work on this case. I was only brought in for my opinion. Judging my how his body looked, he was killed the night before, when he was on his date with Bells. This led me to believe that whoever killed him might have possibly been after Bella too. Adding Bella's case into this one I'd say that James Hunter really is after Bella and he's using others to get to her like Mike and Luke. But since I'm not on the case I won't know if anyone found any DNA traces that weren't Callaghan's. Lucky for me I have a friend in the next department.

I would call him later because all I need right now is some sleep. Chief gave me the whole week off, which is weird because that's a lot of time off. He claimed that I need time to grieve for Callaghan, but we both know that's just a load of bullshit. I think I might be getting fired. And that scared the shit out of me. This was all I knew to do. This was all I wanted to do. If I got fired, I had nowhere to go. I needed to pick up my slack.

After trying for a good hour or so, I quit trying to fall back asleep. I grabbed my gun from under the pillow and headed for the living room. I found a comfortable spot on the couch and started taking apart my gun. Then I put it back together again as fast as I could. I kept doing this trying to go faster each time. I had to try not to wake Bella up though.

I'm still staying in her apartment with her. I never brought up me leaving since she's better by herself now, and neither did she. I still don't think she notices how much I like her. I honestly feel like a dipshit in high school. I don't want to make a move because of everything that's happening but it's hard to just stand on the side and watch. I'm hoping that this stupid masquerade thing will give me a chance to do something. I just hope Alice doesn't give us awkward costumes.

I thought about how I can sweep Bella off her feet while I took apart and reassembled my gun. I took about an hour and a half before I got bored. I probably reassembled the gun about 200 times. I also came up with a shit load of ideas for dates. I'm pathetic.

The sun was starting to come up so I tried to get at least 2 more hours of sleep. I walked back to the guest room, place the gun back under my pillow, and lay down on the plush mattress. I hadn't realized how much my back hurt hunched over my gun until I was laying down. It felt so good. I was out in seconds.

I woke up a couple hours later. I felt a lot better but I need some coffee before I have any energy whatsoever. I dragged myself to the bathroom to brush my teeth quickly and headed to the kitchen. I went through almost all the cupboards looking for the coffee. When I finally found it I started cursing it out. In my head of course. I filled the coffee machine, poured in some water and turned it on.

I turned around to sit at the island while the coffee was brewing but when I turned around I saw a pile of hair on it. I guess Bella woke up to make some coffee herself, but didn't make it to the machine. I walked over to her and poked her side. She jerked, squeaked, and fell off the chair with a thud.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" I asked frantically making sure she didn't hit anything.

"Uuuugghhhh." She groaned. She didn't really move. Then I heard he breathing soften again. She fell back asleep. _The fuck? Does she have narcolepsy or something?_ I carefully slid my arm under her back, and behind her knees and picked her up. I laid her down on the couch and pulled a light blanket over her. Smiling to myself and shaking my head I walked back to the kitchen and decided to make French toast again.

It took about 30 minutes but by the time I was finished Bella had come back into the kitchen rubbing her eyes. I silently grabbed her arm, sat her down in a chair and filled a plate with food and a cup with coffee. With her eyes still closed she took a long sip of coffee, finishing half the cup in one gulp. That was when her eyes finally opened. She looked around confused and I had to laugh at her.

"You don't remember anything do you?" she just shook her head. "I woke up about an hour ago and you were sleeping on the island. I moved you to the couch so I could make breakfast." Maybe if I didn't say anything she wouldn't remember falling off the chair.

"Why do I have a massive headache?" she rubbed her temples.

"Well…I uh… I kind of poked you and you jumped and fell off the chair." I looked away and stuffed my mouth with the French toast.

"Oh, that makes sense." She yawned.

"You're not mad at me?" I said around my food.

"No, I should've told you that I'm just extremely ticklish. Having said that, if you ever tickle me again, you're going to be shunned."

"Shunned?" I laughed.

"Yes shunned." She started eating.

"Who says shunned anymore?"

"I do." She said proudly. I just shook my head and we finished our breakfast in silence. I like that I don't have to talk all the time around her, and neither does she. I hated going on dates with a girl that never knows when to just shut up and enjoy something. Speaking of dates, I've been thinking of asking Bella out for a while now. She seems fine and happy and everything, then again it's only been a month since the whole Mike thing.

When she finished eating I took her plate and mug and took them to the sink. She nudged me out of the way with her hip, smirking at me. "You cooked, I clean." She stated simply. I still reached around her and took the hand towel to dry while she washed. I had to stop the goofy smile from breaking out on my face. Eventually I decided to broach the dating topic.

"So what do you plan on doing today?"

"Nothing much, just being lazy I guess. I think Alice was planning on coming over tonight with everyone to plan the Halloween party." She handed me a plate to dry.

"Oh, that's cool." I said kind of disappointed.

"Did you have something in mind?"

"I was thinking of maybe going to see a movie?" I said focusing on the second plate I was drying.

"Oooh like a date?" she joked.

"Only if you want." I laughed trying to play it off. She handed me the frying pan to dry.

"Sure, what do you want to see?" she asked.

"Uh… I didn't check what was playing. You choose."

"Ok when we're done we can go online and check." She said nonchalantly.

I was so nervous it wasn't funny. I even had butterflies. I am such a pussy. I tried not to let my hands shake too much. I really don't need to drop a glass and have it shattering all over us. This really felt like high school all over again. I became the nerd with huge glasses and pimples again.

Bella handed me the last two forks to dry. "Can you put these back and I'll check the movies?" she pointed to the dishes.

"Yeah, sure, no problem." I quickly put everything away. I walked to the living room and sat next to Bella looking on the laptop with her brow furrowed. I skimmed the screen for about two seconds before she gasped and started bouncing on the couch.

"We have to see Transformers!" she yelled.

"Okay okay! We'll see Transformers." I laughed. She squealed closed the laptop and ran to her room, I'm assuming to get dressed.

45 minutes later we were seated in the theater with a giant bag of popcorn. We somehow got it to stay upright between us. The whole ride over she was giddy. I could swear the car was rocking from her bouncing when I stopped at red lights. While the previews were showing she quizzed me on the first two movies. I loved Transformers so it wasn't hard. Half of the popcorn was done by the time the movie actually started.

Throughout the movie we both had our hands in the popcorn at the same time. Unfortunately, nothing cheesy happened, like us ending up holding hands in the bag. She was so focused on the movie; I don't think she blinked the whole time. I did 'the move' and put my arm around the back of her chair. She kind of leaned in to me but I don't think she really noticed. Sooner that I thought the movie finished. We sat back and waited until the theater cleared out for the most part before we got out. Bella was going on about the effects and the plot of the movie, along with how hot Josh Duhamel is. I tried to ignore that part.

As soon as Bella opened to door to go outside she was knocked back by the breeze. This is the thing about New York; the weather is always being retarded. I caught her around the waist before she hit the ground. When she steadied herself she said, "Shit I didn't bring my sweater."

I just put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my side before walking through the door. I held her close while we walked to the car. It felt good holding her even thought she probably didn't feel anything at all. But until she flat out tells me that she doesn't like me then I'll revel in all I can. By the time we got to the car she was starting to shiver. I opened the door for her and quickly jogged over to my side. I took off my jacket before I got in and handed it to her as I sat. "Here, put this on." She took it wordlessly and put it on as I turned on the heat a little.

"Better?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah, thanks." She smiled.

"Good, so what time is Alice coming over?" I asked hesitantly.

"In about an hour." She groaned.

"So I guess you don't want her choosing our costumes as much as I do?" I chuckled.

"Not at all; she goes way overboard with the costumes. But as long as all the necessary body parts are covered I don't think I'll have that much of a problem. This time."

"What do you think she's going to make us?"

"I have no idea. But we'll find out soon enough." She didn't sound excited at all and that made me wary of what was to come.

~1 ½ hours later~

"ALICE NO I AM NOT WAERING A DIAPER!" I yelled backing away from the little woman trying to measure me for my "costume".

"Come on! It's not that bad right Bella?" she turned to look at Bella who was sitting on the couch covering her face with her hand, shaking her head. "Bella!"

"Alice, no offence…but being cupid is a terrible idea. He needs more clothes than that." Bella said calmly.

I looked back at Alice who whipped her head back at me. I have never been so scared of someone in my life.

Well…

"Fine!" she stomped back to the couch and plopped next to Jasper.

Rosalie and Emmett were trying not to laugh out loud on another couch. Alice had already chosen their costumes. Emmett was going to be a lumber jack guy and Rosalie was going to be some sexy milk-maid. She also chose hers and Jasper's costumes. Jasper is going to be a "hot" nerd (her words not mine) and she will be the teacher. Now she was working one Bella and I.

A couple minutes later she had a wicked smirk on her face. I didn't like that look. She turned to jasper and whispered something to him. Then he got the same smirk, and started laughing. From there it was like a domino effect. He repeated it to Emmett who smirked, laughed, and repeated it to Rose who also smirked, and laughed. Bella and I just looked at each other wide- eyed and slightly scared. I was about to bolt for the door until…

"I've got the perfect costumes for you two." Alice said and proceeded to trap me with the tape measure and actually measured me at the same time. Eventually she was done, and she jumped around clapping her hands saying how she needs to get started on buying our costumes on the online store she found. She grabbed Jasper's hand and dragged him and her excessive energy out the door.

Emmett and Rose got up after they left and headed for the door also. Emmett clapped his hand on my shoulder, laughed and said "Good luck, man" before leaving.

When the door closed behind them it turned to Bella. "I'm kind of scared." I admitted.

"She has that general effect on people. What do you want for dinner." She asked nonchalantly.

"Dinner? Is it that late already?" I looked at the clock. "Holy shit." The clock read 10:13.

"Yeah, whenever you get bored call Alice, she can definitely kill time. One time in college I had to take this unit test and I woke up at like 6 in the morning and couldn't fall back asleep. Since we were rooming together she woke up too and we just talked and did random shit and before I knew it I had to leave. It honestly only felt like an hour maybe two but it was really almost 10 hours."

"Damn, I guess with her energy there's never a dull moment." I chuckled and shook my head. "I swear she's just like the fucking energizer bunny."

"Funny you should say that. A couple years ago on Halloween she was a bunny…just not that kind of a bunny."

"You mean a-"

"Yup; playboy bunny." We looked at each other and cringed. "Anyway, what do you want to eat?"

We ended up making spaghetti, marinara sauce, and garlic bread. It took us almost an hour to finish, but the whole time we talked, laughed, and just enjoyed ourselves. We ate in silence, except we kept glancing at the other. Over the hours cooking and eating we just bullshitted and didn't really learn anything of significance about each other. It was still one of the best nights ever.

The thing is I feel like I could tell her my secrets and all about my past. That shocked me. I've never been comfortable enough to tell someone about those parts of me. I never wanted to ruin the mood or have someone's opinion of me change just because of what I tell them about my past. But with Bella, just looking straight into her eyes make me feel vulnerable and open. I feel like she can tell that something is off. But I also feel like I can tell her everything and not get hurt in the process. Like I won't re-live the pain all over again if I tell her. I figured that after the Halloween party tomorrow I could pull her away and tell her. That seemed safe to me.

"So earlier today kind of felt like a date." She said smirking at me.

I cleared my throat. "That was kind of the point." I smirked back at her. She blushed and looked back at her food. Her whole expression changed then, she looked confused, scared, and frustrated. "If it's too soon I understand. That's why I didn't just blatantly ask you out. I mean two friends can go to the movies right? Sorry if I offended you or something." I rambled.

"No it's fine, I had fun. It was the first date I've went one that didn't completely suck." She laughed. "But um…I think it might be a good idea if we just waited a little more?" she turned it into a question.

"Of course! I don't want to force you, just whenever you're ready you know where I am." I smiled.

She smiled back, "Thank you."

"Anytime, now you look extremely tired. I'll get the dishes, you go to bed." I said.

She looked at me weird before she told me, "You're starting to seem too good to be true."

I just laughed, picked up our plates, kissed the top of her head and went back to the kitchen to wash up. I heard her walk to her room and smiled to myself that I didn't cross a line with the date. It was nice having most of the day with her, I just hope that we can get more of those. When I set the last plate to dry, I went to the guest room to get ready for bed.

Sleep surprisingly came easy and I was out in minutes. I had good dreams with chocolate brown eyes and the most beautiful laugh I've ever heard.

The next morning I woke up and saw a garment bag hanging behind the door with a note stuck to it. I got up, stretched and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes before walking over and reading the note.

_Edward,_

_This is your costume for tonight. Do not protest because it's too late to change. If you come in anything else you will promptly be kicked out on your ass and will have to walk home, so beware. Leave your hair messy._

_Alice._

I snorted, but still took her threat to heart. I zipped open the garment bag to reveal an orange jumpsuit and chains.

I am in some deep shit.

A/N: was it worth it? I hope so. Again sorry for the long wait, but next chapter is the party! I bet you can't guess what will happen. Review and let me know your thoughts!


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